Former Elmhurst resident Gail Miller Blubaugh died on November 18, 2022 in Punta Gorda, Florida, at the age of 67. She died from Ataxia-MSAC after a long illness. A memorial service was held at Ahlgrim’s Funeral Home, 567 Spring Road, Elmhurst.
Gail was born June 11, 1955, in Greenville, Miss., to Hoit and Dorothy Miller. Her father was in the US Airforce and flew for TWA until he retired. Her mother graduated from U of M in business, but stayed at home and raised her children, Katherine Cary, Gail Elizabeth, and Weston Hoit. They moved to Michigan City (Duneland Beach), Ind., when Gail was five. Gail loved living in the vacation paradise that her grandfather had founded.
Gail married John Walter Blubaugh, Jr., the love of her life, on Aug. 12, 1977 at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Michigan City, Ind. They were blessed with four wonderful children: Laura Elizabeth, Scott Ford, Julie Katherine, and John Matthew. She attended Purdue University and got her BS in business in 1977, and then attended National Louis University and received her Master’s in Arts and Teaching in 1999. She worked at Japan Line USA in their accounting department and was a control buyer, assistant buyer, and associate buyer, and then worked as a buyer in intimate apparel and hosiery at Spiegel catalog before staying home to raise her four children. They moved to Elmhurst and she joined the Elmhurst Newcomers and Neighbors Club and served on their board for three years as Community Relations, Treasurer, and Hospitality Chairperson. She also was in charge of the Hawthorne School Playground Committee. After going back to school, Gail was a 2nd and a 3rd Grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School in Elmhurst until 2015 when she retired, living in Wisconsin and eventually moving to Florida.
Gail had a wonderful life, thanks to her many friends, family, and those who cared. Her interests included family, skiing, photography, reading, crafts, travel, friends, and her students.
Gail is survived by her husband of 45 years, John of Punta Gorda, Fla., and her children, their spouses, and their children: her daughter Laura Kentnesse of Oregon; her son Scott, his wife Amanda, and their children, Ellis Jonathan and Winifred Mae, all of Vermont; her daughter Julie, her husband Zac Connelly, and their daughter Freddie, all of Illinois; and her son John and his wife, Lauren, of Illinois. She is also survived by her sister Katherine (Kit) of Illinois and her children, Lisa and Krista, and her brother, Weston (Wes) and his wife, Kelly, of Indiana and his children, Nicole, Katherine, and Natalie. She is survived by her many friends, too, and her cat, Sox.
Gail is preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy B. Miller, her father, Hoit Miller, her mother-in-law, Irene Blubaugh, her father-in-law, John W. Blubaugh Sr., her daughter-in-law, Anita Kentnesse, and her brothers-in-law, Christopher Blubaugh, William Friddle, and Ben Marchlewicz.
In lieu of flowers, donations may kindly be sent to the National Ataxia Foundation.
