Mrs. Willie Gail Summerlin, 72, of Fayetteville died Thursday, May 21, 2009. Gail was born in Atlanta to Evelyn Beatrice Head Gunn and William Gunn. She married Glenn Parks Summerlin, Sr. December 15, 1955. She was a military wife and traveled the world with her husband and children. Gail was a wonderful cook and had the secret to the best pork roast and dressing in the world. She would spend hours making desserts and weaving a lattice top on a cherry pie. Taking classes through the USO, she learned to decorate cakes and then taught her daughters. She was a Red Cross Volunteer at a military hospital in Okinawa, Japan during the mid 70’s. Later in life she baked the bread for Ryan’s Steakhouse in Riverdale, Ga. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nearly 10 years ago, she began to become a child again and never met a stranger. Discovering a profound deafness and fitting her with hearing aids opened a whole new world for her and she spent much of this past year singing, giggling and dancing. If asked about her greatest accomplishments, she would tell you that it was raising her children. She is survived by four children, Angela Suzette Summerlin Whitaker, Alisa Lynn Summerlin Goddard, Theresa Kay Summerlin Hynes, Glenn Parks Summerlin Jr.; ten grandchildren, Christie Leigh Clack Gerdes, Lauren Macie Whitaker, Thomas Glenn Summerlin, Alexandra Marie Hynes, Alexis Brooke Goddard, James Michael Hynes, Charles Henry Whitaker, III, Rachel Glenn Hynes, Levi Frederick Summerlin, Lindy Lee Summerlin. She has one great-grandchild, Peyton Michael Gerdes; and five surviving siblings, Jerry Gunn, Sandra Stover, Elizabeth Price, Sylvia Chadwick, and Karen Rainwater. Memorial services will be held at 7:00 P.M.Tuesday, May 26, 2009 in the chapel of A. S. Turner & Sons with Dr. Ann Brightwell McCord officiating. Those desiring may send contributions in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, 1925 Century Blvd., Suite 10, Atlanta, GA 30345. The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. Tuesday at A. S. Turner & Sons.
