Obituary of Evangeline S Gates

Evangeline (Jill) Senior Gates, age 82, passed away peacefully at LutheranCare-Central New York in Clinton, NY, on September 4, 2019. She was born on September 29, 1936, in Utica, NY, the daughter of Latimer and Nola (Sanborn) Senior. She graduated from Utica Free Academy in Utica, NY, and Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, MA. She married her husband of 61 years, Roger Covell Gates on June 14, 1958. Jill taught English at Westmoreland Central School for many years, touching the lives of countless students with her Shakespeare impersonations and her service as advisor to many graduating classes and to the WCS Student Council, which included taking Student Council officers to several national conferences. She was active in the community throughout her life, serving as a member and officer of the Junior League, a 4-H leader for many years, chairman of the State 4-H Public Speaking competition, and a leader in the Clinton Rotary and Kiwanis clubs.  In her spare time, Jill raised Hampshire sheep, curled with the Utica Curling Club, and rode horses. She was a longtime member of the Limestone Creek Hunt, where she served as Social Chairman.  She also knitted, making sweaters for friends and family from wool shorn from her own sheep, and she was a voracious reader, belonging to several book clubs. She is survived by her husband; daughters Holly (Gary) Travis of Punxsutawney, PA and Julia (Richard) Cunningham of Hinsdale, NH; sisters Mary Clyne of Mohawk, NY and Rebecca Kilts of Fairport, NY; granddaughter Brandy Manners and great-grandsons Owen and Noah of Punxsutawney, PA; sisters-in-law Catharine Gates Miller and Mary Huntington Gates; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Judy Senior; a granddaughter, Ashley Anne Cunningham; brothers-in-law Edmund Jayne Gates Jr., Steven Coley Gates, and David Huntington Gates; and sister-in-law Barbara Gates Pattison. A graveside service will be held at 11am on Saturday, October 12, 2019, at the Kirkland Prospect Hill Cemetery in Clinton.