Gail Rowland
Oct 13, 1938 -
Jan 1, 2021
Gail Maxine Rowland died on Jan. 1, 2021, in Bethlehem, Pa., of COVID-19, after suffering several years from Parkinson's disease. She was 82.
Gail was a well-known Alaskan for more than 50 years, contributing her considerable intellect to civic affairs and volunteering for her church and other causes. She was deeply interested in antique furniture and art and enjoyed collecting. Her many friends knew her as witty, elegant, well-dressed and loyal.
Gail was born Gail Hinman on Oct. 13, 1938, to Ray and Isabelle Hinman, in Buffalo, N.Y. She graduated in 1957 from Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. In 1961, she graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor of science in public law and government. She also completed courses with the National Society of Fundraising Executives and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Gail moved to Alaska in 1965 with her former husband, Mark Rowland. She lived in Juneau and then Anchorage, where she continued to reside until moving to the Kirkland Village Continuing Care Retirement Community in Bethlehem in 2017.
In 1979, Gail opened an Anchorage business appraising personal property. She was expert at identifying and valuing antique furniture, silver and art. She taught courses on antique furniture at Anchorage Community College and was docent for the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. In the early 1980s her newspaper column, "Antiques and Collectables," ran regularly in the Anchorage Daily News.
Gail also worked as a fundraiser, conducting successful capital campaigns, feasibility studies and endowment campaigns for non-profit organizations all over the U.S. She served as Development Director of the University of Alaska Anchorage and later was a partner with the Rauchenstein Consulting Group of Gahanna, Ohio, a fundraising company. She also served as a board member for the Columbus, Ohio, fundraising firm Ward, Dreshman & Reinhardt.
Gail was active for many years in St. Mary's Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska, serving both as counsel in stewardship planning and strategy. She also helped lead capital campaigns for the church and diocese.
Gail's many volunteer and civic activities in Alaska included work on a variety of boards related to juvenile justice. She was on the Governors Commission on the Administration of Justice, the Supreme Court Children's Rules Committee, the Children's Code Revision Committee, and was chair of the State Office of Child Advocacy and chair of the State Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee.
She was also a board member of the League of Women Voters and of the Anchorage Opera.
Gail is survived by her brother, Ray Hinman Jr. of Wilmington, N.C.; her daughters, Sarah of Peapack, N.J., and Kate of London, England; and her nieces, Cynthia Jaramillo of Edgewater, Md., Jennifer Magill of Wilmington and Susan Hinman Waldman of Waban, Mass. She is preceded in death by her parents.
Services have not yet been planned. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
