Gail Moseley Upchurch of Gainesville, GA and Sebring, FL passed away on May 7th in Gainesville. The daughter of the late W. H. Moseley and Irene Chafin Moseley of Henry County, she grew up on Coventry Road in Decatur. During a childhood illness that nearly took her life, doctors told her parents that she would not live to be 10 years old. However, Gail had other ideas. Not only did she live to celebrate her 10th birthday, she recently celebrated her 76th birthday with the love of her life, husband John D. Upchurch.
Gail graduated from Decatur High School in 1957, and earned a BA in Elementary Education from Stetson University, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega. She and John met at Stetson and were inseparable from that point on. They married in 1961 and went on to have two daughters, two granddaughters, and a grandson. Gail earned an MS in Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Potsdam, and spent more than 30 years as a public school teacher and reading specialist. She taught in Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, and upstate New York, and finally at Fair Street School in Gainesville from 1985 to 1997. Following her retirement, she volunteered for many years in Gainesville teaching teach English as a Second Language. She was a member of First Baptist Church, Gainesville.
Gail leaves behind her devoted husband of 54 years, John D. Upchurch, as well as Elizabeth Upchurch Sioma and Lawrence Sioma of Clarksville, Maryland; and Catherine Upchurch Berrigan and Timothy Berrigan of Roswell, Georgia. She was a loving and doting grandmother to her three grandchildren, Claire and Joseph Berrigan and Helen Sioma. Gail will be remembered most for her kind heart and generous spirit, as well as her deep and abiding love for her family.
A Celebration of Life service is planned for June 28th at 2:00 pm at First Baptist Gainesville, 751 Green Street. Those wishing to do so may make a memorial donation to the Ministry of Caring at First Baptist, so that Gail may continue to serve others as she did throughout her long and very full life.
Condolences may be made online at wardsfh.com Ward's Funeral Home 758 Main Street S.W. Gainesville in charge of arrangements.
