Doreen Koch Gilmer, widow of DL Capt. W. W. Gilmer

 

~ IN MEMORY ~

Doreen Koch Gilmer, widow of DL Capt. W. W. Gilmer

December 12, 1937  -  March 4, 2025

 

Delta Golden Wings member….Doreen Jane Koch Gilmer, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 4^th.

 

 https://www.mowells.com/obituaries/Doreen-Jane-Gilmer?obId=38866817

 

Doreen Jane Koch Gilmer, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 4, 2025. She was born on December 12, 1937, in Schenectady, NY, to Robert M. Koch and Rebecca (Ruby) Hutchinson Koch.

 

Doreen pursued her passion for nursing at Clara Maass Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Belleville, NJ, where she earned her RN degree. She later continued her education at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, earning a Bachelor of Science in Education and School Nurse Teacher Certification. She worked as a school nurse for several years before fate led her to a sweet Southern Air Force pilot stationed in Plattsburgh, NY. That pilot, William Wayman Gilmer—her beloved “Sweet William”—became the love of her life. They married and moved to Georgia when he was hired by Delta Airlines, building a beautiful life together. Doreen continued her nursing career in medical-surgical care, working part-time while raising their children.

 

Doreen was the matriarch of her family, a woman whose love and wisdom shaped generations. She was preceded in death by her husband and their cherished daughter, Rebecca Koch Gilmer Benefield. She is survived by her loving son, William Muldrow Gilmer; her steadfast sisters, Barbara Ann Noble and Donna Lee Geothe; her adored grandchildren, William Trawick Gilmer, Hardy McAfee Simpson, Emily Anne Gilmer Flynn, and Elizabeth Graham Gilmer; and many treasured nieces and nephews.

 

Mowell Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Fayetteville, www.mowells.com

PCN memorial site

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9540572/william-wayman-gilmer

DL Capt. William Wayman Gilmer

Birth:  21 Dec 1936

Death:   2 Sep 2000 (aged 63)

Burial:  Silver Brook Cemetery, Anderson SC

DAL seniority date:  01-03-1967 

Captain Bill died September 2, 2000, at 63, in a boating incident in Perdido Key, FL.  He was on a surfboard in the bay when lightning struck nearby.  He fell off the board and subsequently drowned.