Gale Helen Kilmer
November 20, 1937 ~ April 1, 2019
Born in:
Brooklyn, NY
Resided in:
Leicester, NC
Asheville Butterfly TrailGale Kilmer, 81, of Leicester, NC, passed away on Monday, April 1, 2019.
Gale was born on November 20, 1937, at Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY. Her parents, Albert and Helen Mortash Oswald, were living in Troy, NY, but traveled to Brooklyn to be with Gale’s mother’s sister for Gale’s birth.
Gale attended school in Schenectady, NY, Hazleton, PA, and Brooklyn. She graduated from S.J. Tilden High School, and then entered a three-year nursing program at Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Brooklyn, the same hospital where she was born.
She worked at Merrill Lynch and Shearson Hammill Corp., in New York City as a sales assistant (non-registered), the Bulova Watch Co., in Queens, NY, Preprint Corp. in New York City, General Foods Corp., in Tarrytown, NY, and the Graymoor Friary in Garrison, NY, where she helped set up the Justice and Peace Department.
She raised two children in Putnam Valley, NY, with their father, George C. Millette. She later lived in Edwards, MO, had her own counseling service, and was the president of Citizens Against Spouse Abuse. She left Missouri in 1996 and settled in Leicester, NC, where she married Ian M. Kilmer on February 14, 2004. He preceded her in death on August 24, 2008.
In North Carolina, she was the Managing Editor of the DX Magazine, a published author, an obedience trainer for dogs, a vocalist and a practicing psychic and astrologer. She did pet therapy with her golden retriever, Clyde, in Missouri and North Carolina. Gale volunteered at Helpmate, an organization combating spouse abuse in Asheville. She also designed her own greeting cards, using her prose and poetry.
She is survived by two children and two grandchildren. Daughter, Holly-Gale Millette of London, England, and her daughter, Rosa-Leanora Linnhe Millette; son, Christopher Millette, his wife Kimberly Millette and their son, Grayson C. Millette of Pennsylvania. She is also survived by her sister, Junesharyn Kennedy, of New Jersey; niece, Amy Brennan-Grois, of New Jersey; nephew, Douglas Metzner, of California; and several cousins in New York and Pennsylvania.
The memorial service for Mrs. Kilmer will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 30, at Unity of the Blue Ridge, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road, Mills River, NC 28759.
In lieu of flowers, friends are requested to make donations to The Brick Church Fund, P.O. Box 53, Leicester, NC 28748.
Groce Funeral Home on Patton Ave. is assisting the family.
Services
Memorial Service: July 30, 2019 10:00 am
Unity of the Blue Ridge
2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd.
Mills River, NC 28759
828-891-8700
We are saddened to hear of Gale’s passing. Our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. May peace find you during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.