William David Gilchrist Sr. ^{1 2}

William David Gilchrist 83, retired Air Force colonel
Graveside service for William David Gilchrist Sr., 83, of Courtland will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Courtland City Cemetery with the Rev. Dr. William Cooper officiating and Roselawn Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends following the service at Courtland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Gilchrist died Monday, Oct. 18, 1999, in Madison. He was born Dec. 31, 1915, in Courtland to William Garth Gilchrist and Louise Clark Gilchrist. He was a 1938 graduate of Auburn University with a degree in aeronautical engineering. Commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Gilchrist flew as a fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War, serving in England, Germany, North Africa, Korea and Japan; he retired as a colonel in the Air Force. He was a member of the Decatur Rotary Club and a lifelong member of Courtland Presbyterian Church, where he taught men's Sunday school. He is survived by his wife, Louise Hitch Gilchrist; two sons, William David Gilchrist Jr. of Houston, Texas, and Edward Hitch Gilchrist of Folkston, Ga.; two daughters, Lelia Martin Gilchrist of Nashville and Virginia Gilchrist Fite of Decatur; one brother, Dr. Philip Gilchrist of Mobile; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Deacons and elders from Courtland Presbyterian Church will be pallbearers. Memorials may be made to Courtland Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 386, Courtland, AL 35618.

William married Louise Daniel Hitch, daughter of Edward Sylvanus Hitch and Mary Louise Daniel, about 1942. (Louise Daniel Hitch was born on 03 Jan 1919 in Waycross, Ware Co., GA,^{2 4 5} died on 06 Jul 2003 in Decatur, Morgan Co., AL and was buried about 09 Jul 2003 in Courtland Cemetery, Lawrence Co., AL.)