Obituaries:  William Gill, Sabine Parish       G-400
Source:  Sabine Index, Many, La., Jun 5, 1964
Submitted by: Carl Dilbeck
              carlrad@earthlink.net




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William Gill

  Mansfield - The body of a prominent Pleasant Hill man was found
Sunday afternoon in the twisted wreckage of his private plane,
which plunged into a wooded area Friday night, within sight of an
airport runway.

  The victim, William Gill, was apparently killed instantly, when
his blue and white single engine craft went down.

  The 29 year old Gill was associated with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. L. M. Gill in the Campti-Pleasant Hill Telephone Co.

  Dr. C. J. Turner, deputy coroner of DeSoto Parish, placed the
time of death at between 6:30 p.m., and 7 p.m., Friday. He said
Gill died of crushing injuries.

  His body was still inside the mangled plane when the wreckage
was found, Turner said.

  The plane was apparently attempting to land at the DeSoto Parish
Airport, four miles north of Mansfield, at the time of the crash,
officers said, but there were no witnesses.

  It clipped the tops of several trees, hit the ground, and
skidded some 200 feet before coming to rest on its side at the
edge of a grassy area, less than 100 feet from the beginning of
the airport's grassy runway.

  Bits of wreckage were scattered over the area, and the wings of
the small plane had been ripped off.

  The plane was located several hours after the Civil Air Patrol
squadron out of Shreveport sent up five planes to criss-cross
this area.

  Capt. Robert Mahoney, commander of the CAP unit at Shreveport,
was alerted to begin a search Saturday night, after Gill's plane
"made about five passes" at Lucien Field (near Shreveport) and
then took off south.

  "The next we heard, he was trying to land at DeSoto Parish
Airport at Mansfield, and he hasn't been heard from since",
Mahoney said.

  The wreckage, Deputy Sheriff Hugh Bennett said, was found by a
search unit of the Citizens Band Radio in the Mansfield area.

  Relatives said Friday, that Gill might be on his way to Mexico
with three other men, but officers said Gill was alone when the
plane went down.

  Gill, a Marine veteran, had attended Kemper Military School,
Louisiana State University, Tulane, and the University of Mexico.

  He was married, and the father of two children.

  Other survivors include his parents; a sister; and a brother.

  Funeral services were held at Rambin Catholic Church, and
interment was at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, under the direction of
Drewett Funeral Home.