Minden · Ruston · New Orleans · Biloxi · Longview · Bossier City
Gwen has never been one to stand still.
Born in Minden, Louisiana, on September 19, 1932, Gwen built a life shaped by curiosity, family, church, and friendships that endured across decades. She married Billy McKellar on August 8, 1954, and together they raised Bill, Diane and Jim.
What feels most distinctly Gwen is her willingness to try something new. After her children were grown, she returned to school and became a preschool teacher. In her seventies, she was still saying yes, including to two Cajun Cup 10Ks with her sister Jamie.
This website is a beginning, not a finished portrait. If you know Gwen, help the archive grow with a story, correction, or family photograph.
The center of the story
Gwen stands at the center of two enduring families, the Almonds and the McKellars. The records, memories, and relationships gathered here bring the people around her into focus.
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Almond was the oldest child of James Turner Almond Sr. and Lalia Smith Almond. Her younger siblings were Jamie Almond Gaither, born in Minden in 1935, and James Turner Almond Jr. Through the years, Gwen remained closely connected to both siblings and their families. [2]
The sections that follow trace how that Minden upbringing traveled with her into marriage, motherhood, friendship, service, teaching, and the generations that came next.
Explicitly stated in a contemporary record, institutional source, publication, or race result.
Preserved through firsthand family knowledge and identified here as such when an outside record has not yet been found.
Multiple records align, but a primary document has not yet been located.
Plausible and worth pursuing, but not presented here as fact.
Before she left Minden
The 1950 Minden High Grig offers an unusually lively glimpse of Gwen at seventeen. She was the yearbook’s editor-in-chief and took part in Girls State, the Louisiana High School Press Association, the 1948 homecoming court, pep squad, choir, Future Homemakers, and Future Business Leaders of America. It reads less like a list of honors than an early view of habits that would last: organizing, joining in, bringing people together, and saying yes to the work.
Her own chapters
College and marriage
Family history remembers Gwen as a student at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, now Louisiana Tech, where she belonged to Phi Mu and met Billy McKellar. Billy’s obituary independently confirms that he attended Tech, and their engagement was indexed by July 22, 1954. Together, the records make the college meeting a strong inference, though Gwen’s own college record and Phi Mu page remain to be found. [1] [9] [22] [25]
Strong inferenceLifelong friendship
The 1950 yearbook gives Gwen and Peggy Holland Padgham’s friendship a documented starting point in the Minden High Press Clinic. Peggy later built a career in church communications, lived in four states and Iran, and became an elementary teacher in 1970. With Genie Carson, they stayed connected by texts and regular calls into their nineties. The records now trace Gwen and Peggy’s friendship across at least 75 years. [14] [29]
DocumentedWhen Billy began his private pediatric practice in Longview, Gwen joined the Junior League of Longview. The membership is preserved through family history, though a digitized roster has not yet been located.
Family-confirmedAfter the family moved to Bossier City in 1966, Gwen became deeply involved at First United Methodist Church and volunteered at Bossier General Hospital. Both gave her lasting ways to care for people and build friendships.
Family-confirmedA second chapter
After Bill, Diane and Jim were grown, Gwen returned to school, earned the certification needed to teach preschool, and spent years working with young children at First United Methodist Church of Bossier City. The work drew naturally on the patience, faith, and service that had long shaped her life.
Family-confirmedA glimpse of Gwen herself
At 73, Gwen ran the 2005 Cajun Cup 10K alongside her younger sister Jamie, who finished two places ahead. Three years later, they returned. Gwen, then 76, crossed the finish line in 1:30:19.9, and Jamie followed just four-tenths of a second later. The results preserve something better than a pair of race times: an image of two sisters still moving through life together, almost stride for stride. [6] [7]
Relationships at a glance
Gwen is the point where the Almond, Smith, and McKellar lines meet.
1884–1962 · wife not yet identified
Harris Community near Homer, Louisiana
1868–1960 · 1873–1952 · strongly indicated
The tree keeps this relationship visibly open.
1910–1991 · 1911–1987
1894–1972 · 1897–1991
married Sandy Spohn
married Tim Wheelahan
partner Mark Weber
A life in motion
The milestones give the story structure. The fuller portraits live in the sections around them.
Born in Minden, Louisiana.
DocumentedEditor-in-chief of the Grig and active across school life.
DocumentedFamily history places Gwen at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, where she belonged to Phi Mu and met Billy.
Strong inferenceThey marry seventeen days after their indexed engagement announcement.
DocumentedThe family moves through Shreveport, Biloxi, New Orleans, and Longview during Billy’s training and service.
DocumentedThe family settles in Bossier City.
DocumentedAfter her children are grown, Gwen earns preschool certification and begins teaching.
Family-confirmedGwen and Jamie complete both races, finishing nearly together in 2008.
DocumentedChildren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and lifelong friendships keep adding to the story.
The Minden household
Their records give the clearest outline of the home Gwen came from: locally connected, civically visible, and closely tied to Louisiana Tech.
Turner was not simply a name in a census. In 1962, he appears to have finished first in a citywide council election.
Fourteen candidates sought five Minden City Council seats. Turner Almond received 1,255 votes, the largest total in the field, and won outright in the first primary. [4]
Father · civic life
August 4, 1910 – June 29, 1991
Turner was the son of Vander Almond and a brother of Mary G. Almond Garrett and Ernest Almond. He and Lalia were in Minden by at least 1935. His 1962 council result points to an established local reputation. The new council included Turner Almond, Lonnie Cupples, Joe Hunter, Travis Taylor, and H. G. “Cy” Williams under Mayor Frank Norman.
A 1963 school-yearbook advertisement names “Turner Almond” as secretary-treasurer of Willis Lumber Company in Princeton. It may describe Turner Sr. or his accountant son, but the record does not distinguish them. [37]
Mother · Smith family
December 2, 1911 – April 7, 1987
Lalia was a daughter of Joe and Mittie Smith. Her known siblings included Iru Wade Smith Daugherty, Theran Smith, Hazel Ezell, and Helen Smith. A contemporary 1956 obituary for Hazel identifies “Mrs. Turner Almond” among the sisters, while Iru’s 2025 obituary independently names Lalia, Turner Almond, and Gwendolyn McKellar. [3] [36]
Iru’s obituary ties the Smith, Almond, and McKellar branches together across a century.
June 30, 1935 – January 17, 2015
Jamie was a Minden High freshman in Gwen’s 1950 yearbook, singing in the Girls’ Glee Club and working on the Monitor newspaper while Gwen edited the Grig. The 1955 Louisiana Tech Lagniappe lists her in Secretarial Science and Phi Mu. A 1965 University of Southwestern Louisiana yearbook then finds Jamie, married and living in Lafayette, back in college as an education sophomore. Like Gwen and Peggy, she seems to have understood that adulthood did not close the door on learning something new. [2] [13] [29] [38]
Turner Jr. married Yvonne and later lived in the Fort Worth area. At Louisiana Tech he served as president of the Student Senate and belonged to Omicron Delta Kappa, Beta Alpha Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Who’s Who. He became a CPA and worked with Ernst & Young. Brian Almond of Houston and Brad Almond of Dallas are his sons. [10]
Sixty-five years together
They learned early how to make a home while life kept moving.
After marrying in 1954, Gwen and Billy raised Bill, Diane and Jim, eventually settling in Bossier City. Away from medicine, their life together included running, ping-pong, the Dallas Cowboys, bridge, church, friendships, and yearly beach trips. [1] [24]
The training years
Billy grew up in Plain Dealing, then graduated from Louisiana Tech and Tulane Medical School. The sequence that followed is documented, though the exact dates of the family’s moves still need to be pinned down. [1]
Internship at Confederate Memorial Hospital.
Two years of military service in Biloxi, MS.
Pediatric residency at Charity Hospital.
Private pediatric practice.
Billy was a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and led pediatrics at Barksdale Air Force Base for 25 years. A younger doctor remembered him as a model of kindness, honor, and sound medical practice. [1] [24] [30]
For another 26 years, Billy reviewed medical evidence for Louisiana Disability Determination Services. Colleagues remembered his patience, integrity, willingness to teach, and insistence that every case receive the right decision. [24] [31]
At Barksdale, Billy’s humor could relax a tense committee room. Another physician found that ordinary appointments with him tended to become long conversations because there was always more to discuss. [24]
One mother remembered that her children liked their pediatrician so much they invented ailments just to visit him. It is a small story that says more than a job title could. [24]
Family after Gwen
Three children, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
married Sandy Spohn · July 29, 1978
married Tim Wheelahan · December 6, 1986
partner Mark Weber · January 28, 1998
Bill · Northwestern State
Bill arrived at Northwestern State from Parkway High as a 6-foot-1 basketball guard. He played for the Demons and was later selected for Blue Key, a national honor fraternity recognizing academic standing, leadership, and campus involvement. [39] [40] [41]
Diane · Northwestern State
Diane’s years at Northwestern State University were full: State Fair Queen, Wesley Foundation, Bat Girls, Purple Jackets, student government, and, in 1979, Miss NSU, the university’s highest student honor. She later carried that combination of service and teaching as a physical therapist and an instructor at LSU Health Sciences Center. [42] [43] [44]
Jim · Harvard Student Agencies
Jim became CEO and general manager of Harvard Student Agencies in 2007, leading the world’s largest student-run company. He gave students real authority while teaching them to read a balance sheet, run a meeting, recover from mistakes, and grow into the responsibility. It was business education learned by doing. [45] [46]
A family photograph brings another generation together with Gwen and Billy.
Anna Kate · Camille · James Garrett · GiGi · Maggie · Alice · Parks · Whit
Gwen’s granddaughter
Kristen graduated from Airline High School in 2001 after three years with the Blue Angels Danceline. She was an honor-roll student, served in several school organizations, and went on to Louisiana Tech. During her freshman year, Kristen was killed in a hit-and-run crash caused by a drunk driver. Her friends later created a scholarship in her name for members of Airline’s Blue Angels, carrying forward the dance, generosity, and friendship for which they remembered her. [28]
Webster Parish roots
“Minden Family” was not merely a geographic label. Meals and games in Gwen’s childhood home, reunions at Toledo Bend and “the farm,” beach trips, and cousins visiting one another around the world kept it active across generations. [27]
01
Gwen’s paternal grandfather, Vander Almond, was born May 26, 1884, died October 9, 1962, and is recorded at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden. His known children included Mary G. Almond Garrett, Ernest Almond, and Turner Almond Sr. Mary’s obituary independently identifies Gwendolyn McKellar, Jamie Gaither, and Turner Almond Jr. as her niece, niece, and nephew.
Transcribed Gilgal Church records also include Vander and other Almonds, among them Fate Almond. A newly located obituary says Fate and Willie B. Almond raised nine children on a cotton farm in Webster Parish in the 1920s. Their youngest, Sarah, later spent forty years at Minden Bank and Trust. The record does not yet prove how Fate and Vander were related, but it gives the family’s remembered “farm” its first outside echo in the right parish and era. [34]
02
Vander Almond Road still exists outside Minden. Nearby roads include Almond Circle, Almond Road, Henry Almond Road, and Joe Almond Lane. Fate and Willie B. Almond had a son named Joe, making him a plausible namesake for Joe Almond Lane, but no road ordinance has yet been found to prove it.
Was the later family’s remembered “farm” the same place as Fate’s documented cotton farm, Vander’s property interests, or another Almond property? And were Fate and Vander brothers? The new record narrows the questions without answering them.
Family stories and discoveries
Genealogy is strongest when the names and dates lead back to how people actually spent time together.
Louisiana Polytechnic Institute became a recurring family place. Gwen’s attendance and Phi Mu membership are family-confirmed. The 1955 Lagniappe independently lists Jamie Carolyn Almond in Secretarial Science and Phi Mu. Turner Jr. later led the Student Senate, and Kristen also enrolled at Tech. The archive has 1951–53 yearbooks but no scanned 1954 volume, the likely place for Gwen’s senior portrait and Phi Mu page. [13] [23] [25]
The Plain Dealing Cemetery record places John Dougal McKellar Sr. at the head of a family line in which the name appears across five generations: John Dougal McKellar Sr.; his son, John Dougal McKellar Jr.; Billy Dougal McKellar; William Dougal McKellar; and James Matthew Dougal McKellar. [8]
George Garrett McKellar, born in 1892, and William Narl McKellar were brothers. Family history confirms that Billy later gave his son James Garrett McKellar, known as Jim, the middle name Garrett in honor of Billy’s Uncle Doc. The name continues two generations later with James Garrett Descant, carrying that family connection forward. [8]
In 2023, Brad Almond, Brian Almond, Diane Wheelahan, William McKellar, and James McKellar established the Dr. Robert Kevin Gaither ’96 Graduate Fellowship at Texas A&M. Each gave $5,000 toward a $25,000 endowment supporting graduate study in English or history. Brad described them as five cousins from Kevin’s maternal family in Minden. It is unusually clear modern evidence that the children of Gwen and Turner Jr. remained close to Jamie’s family. [5]
McKellar research
The candidate is worth pursuing, but it is not being promoted to a family relationship without the census or another direct record.
They are buried together in Plain Dealing Cemetery: T. Z. Barnett, 1851–1907, and his wife E. M. Evans Barnett, 1853–1923. They are the only Barnett couple of their generation found in the cemetery where Zuma is buried, making them the strongest current candidates for her parents. Zuma would have been nine when T. Z. died. [32]
The 1900 or 1910 federal census for Bossier Parish should show whether a child named Zuma lived in the T. Z. Barnett household. Until that record is found, the family tree keeps her parents visibly open rather than turning a good lead into a fact.
An archive designed to grow
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Sources and research notes
This is a research edition, not a claim of final genealogical proof. Records are listed so later discoveries can correct or deepen the story.
James Turner Almond Sr. and Jr. often appear simply as Turner Almond. Age, place, education, spouse, and context must be checked before assigning a record to either man. This site treats the 1962 councilman as Turner Sr. because he was about 51 and established in Minden, but it leaves the Willis Lumber position unresolved because either man is plausible.
Family knowledge is valuable evidence, but it is identified separately from outside documentation. The 1950 Minden High yearbook now documents Gwen’s editor-in-chief role and her shared journalism activity with Peggy. Gwen’s college attendance, Phi Mu membership, Junior League work, hospital volunteering, preschool certification, and teaching remain family-confirmed. Billy’s documented attendance at Louisiana Tech moves the remembered college meeting to strong inference.