Mary Elizabeth Denmark Gilbert, age 87, of Mobile, passed away on Sunday, April 29, 2018. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. with a funeral service following at 11 a.m. at Radney Funeral Home, 3155 Dauphin St. Mobile, AL. 36605. Burial will follow in Mobile Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Gilbert was a life-long resident of Mobile and was a graduate of Murphy High School. Mrs. Gilbert was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother who also devoted much of her life in service to others and her community. She began her community involvement with participation in the PTA of several Mobile public schools in which she subsequently held leadership roles in. Other organizations she became involved with and went on to hold leadership roles in included the Girl Scouts of America, Keep Mobile Beautiful, Pilot Club of West Mobile, Midtown of Mobile Sertoma-Club, Alabama Business Women’s Association, and the Mobile Infirmary Auxiliary. Her career as the Southwest Branch Program Director of the American Lung Association of Alabama also presented interactions with the community as she frequently gave demonstrations in schools and community events where she lectured and demonstrated the adverse effects of smoking on a person’s lungs with the mannequin ‘Smoking Sam’.
She was preceded in death by her father, Verne Denmark Sr.; mother, May Frye; and husband, Bernard L. Gilbert.
She is survived by her children, Rev. Dr. Paula Gilbert (Dr. Stanley Hauerwas), Philip Gilbert (Nelda), and Laura Pryde; grandchildren, David Pryde and Andrew Pryde; and brother, Verne Denmark Jr. nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
The family wishes to express their thanks and appreciation to Westminster Assisted Living and Summerford Nursing Home of Morgan county for all their help and care.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to any non-profit organizations dedicated to the protection of our country’s wildlands and wildlife or to the Alzheimers Association at 117A Longwood Dr. SE, Huntsville, AL. 35801.
