New Jersey Youth Soccer organization members are mourning the loss of past President Evelyn Gill.
Gill began her involvement with youth soccer by coaching her sons at the recreational and competitive levels, according to information provided by New Jersey Youth Soccer (NJYS).
She was later elected president of NJYS on three occasions, first in the early 1990s and most recently completing a term as NJYS president in 2020.
She established the first NJYS State Office, initiated the U.S. Youth Soccer American Cup Festival and also organized New Jersey Youth Soccer’s first coaching workshop, according to the statement.
Additionally, she was a major factor in helping equalize funding for the Girls’ Olympic Development Program in the state.
Gill was selected as secretary of the U.S. Youth Soccer Board of Directors in 1996. She held that position until she was elected as vice president of the U.S. Youth Soccer Board of Directors, a position she held for 14 years.
She was also on the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors as well as its Disabled Athletes Committee and Credentials Committees.
Further, she spent time serving on the U.S. Soccer Governance Taskforce.
Gill was inducted into the U.S. Youth Soccer Hall of Fame in 2015, according to the statement.
“We are so grateful to Evelyn for her years of service to NJYS and to the game of youth soccer. We thank Evelyn for her leadership, friendship, guidance and wisdom. She will be greatly missed by our New Jersey Youth Soccer family and the entire soccer community as a whole,” the statement reads.
According to her obituary, posted by Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors in Lawrenceville, Evelyn Anne Gill, 79, of Lawrenceville, passed away on Dec. 8 after a short battle with glioblastoma.
Born in Newport, Rhode Island, she resided in Lawrenceville for the past 53 years.
She attended Rogers High School and was the No. 1 ranked tennis player in the New England Juniors during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
She attended Lake Forest College and went on to earn four letters in tennis and three in basketball and field hockey, respectively, and a spot in Lake Forest College’s athletic Hall of Fame.
Gill later earned a master’s degree from Smith College.
Gill taught tennis at the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center and the Trenton YWCA, where she became director of Health Education and Recreation and Women’s Services.
Through her involvement with the Jaycee-ettes, she founded the Mercer County Girls’ Track Meet, the first county-wide track meet for high school girls.
In addition to serving as past president for the New Jersey Jaycee-ettes and treasurer for the United States Jaycee-ettes, she was an elder and chairman of the Christian Education Committee at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, and an active member of Allentown Presbyterian Church.
In 1985, Gill co-founded Prevention Education Inc (now PEI KIDS), a social service agency to promote and maintain a safe environment for all children. Among PEI’s successes was implementing one of the first Child Assault Prevention (CAP) projects in New Jersey. The NJ Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse & Neglect selected CAP as the first primary prevention program in the state.
Funeral services will be on Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. at Allentown Presbyterian Church, 20 High St., Allentown. Interment will follow at Ewing Church Cemetery.
Relatives and friends can call for Gill on Tuesday, Dec. 14, from 4:30–6:30 p.m. at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville.
Remembrance donations may be made to PEI Kids Inc. 231 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville 08648.
