Frances Robertson Gill, age 91, formally of Richmond, Virginia and a resident of Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury in Irvington, Virginia, died Wednesday, June 17, 2015. She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Dr. John Alexander Gill, a retired otolaryngologist, who practiced medicine in Richmond for over 50 years. The daughter of Archibald Gerard Robertson and Margaret Spencer Robertson, she was born in Richmond on May 18, 1924. She was preceded in death by her oldest daughter Margaret Gill Donovan and her sister, Spencer Robertson Newell. She is survived by her daughter Durbin Gill Emerson of Kiawah Island, SC (Trux) and daughter Ellen Gill Ball of Richmond, Virginia; son-in-law Thomas Donovan of Leominster, MA; and seven grandchildren: John Donovan (Stacey), Charlie Donovan (Windy), Christy Donovan Hall (Eric), Tyler Emerson Dorsch (Brook), Alex Emerson, Maria Ball Cloud (Zack), and John Harrison Ball. She is also survived by ten great grandchildren: Maddie and Lyla Donovan; Mary and Alexandra Donovan; Donovan, Jackson, Spencer and Mackenzie Hall, and Durbin and Peyton Dorsch. Frances also leaves behind her sister Peggy Robertson Christian, sister-in-law Emory Gill Williams, and brother-in-law Joseph Ross Newell.
Frances attended St. Catherine’s School and graduated from Oldfields School in Glencoe, Maryland. She continued her studies at Wheelock College in Boston. She was a member of the Junior Board of the old Sheltering Arms Hospital in downtown Richmond, a former member of the Junior League of Richmond, the Tuckahoe Woman’s Club, the Tuckahoe Garden Club, the Woman’s Club in Richmond, The Country Club of Virginia, The Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club, and the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fisher House Charleston, PO Box 829, Johns Island, SC 29457 or St. Catherine’s School, 6001 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23226.
A graveside service will be held on Monday, June 22 at 10 a.m. at Historic Christ Church Burying Ground in Irvington.