Minden · Ruston · New Orleans · Longview · Bossier City
Gwen has never been one to stand still.
Born in Minden, Louisiana, on September 19, 1932, Gwen grew up surrounded by a big, close North Louisiana family. She met Billy McKellar at Louisiana Tech, married him on August 8, 1954, and shared 65 years of marriage with him. Together they raised three children and built a full life around family, church, and friendships that endured across decades.
What feels most distinctly Gwen is her willingness to begin again. After her children were grown, she went back, earned her certification, and taught preschool. In her seventies, she ran 10K races alongside her sister Jamie. She has always seemed to understand that there is no age limit on starting a new chapter.
This page is a beginning, not a finished portrait. If you know Gwen, you probably have a story, photograph, or small detail that belongs here. Share something that sounds just like her, or add a family photograph directly to the gallery.
The center of the story
Gwen stands at the center of two enduring families, the Almonds and the McKellars. What follows is drawn from the records, memories, and relationships that have gathered around her. Raised in Minden, she built a life shaped by education, family, faith, service, lifelong friendships, and a remarkable willingness to begin something new.
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]
Gwen attended Louisiana Tech in Ruston, then known as Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, where family history records that she met Billy Dougal McKellar. A Bossier Parish newspaper index documents their engagement on July 22, 1954. They married on August 8, 1954, and remained married until Billy’s death in 2020. [1] [9] [22]
Their early married life took them to Longview, Texas, and then to Bossier City in 1966. Wherever they lived, Gwen created a life of her own through civic involvement, church, volunteer service, teaching, close friendships, and lasting ties to the extended “Minden Family.”
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.
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. By July 22, 1954, their engagement had been announced, and they married on August 8 of that year. The college brought together two people who would spend the next 65 years building a family and a life. Gwen’s yearbook portrait and sorority page remain to be found. [9] [22] [25]
Family-confirmedLifelong friendship
Peggy Holland Padgham, Genie Carson, and Gwen shared one of those rare friendships that lasted across most of their lives. Even in their nineties, they remained connected through texts and regular telephone calls. The surviving record does not tell us when the three women first met, but it makes clear how much the friendship endured. [14]
DocumentedWhen Billy began his private pediatric practice in Longview, Gwen made a place for herself in the community through the Junior League of Longview. It was an early expression of something that would continue throughout her life: wherever the family settled, Gwen found ways to participate, contribute, and form lasting connections. This part of her story is preserved through family history, though a digitized Junior League membership roster has not yet been located.
Family-confirmedWhen the family moved to Bossier City in 1966, Gwen once again became part of the life around her. She was deeply involved at First United Methodist Church of Bossier City and volunteered at Bossier General Hospital. Church and service gave her another way to care for people, build friendships, and make a new community feel like home.
Family-confirmedA second chapter
After Bill, Diane, and Jim were grown, Gwen began a new chapter of her own. She 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. Teaching was something new, but it also grew naturally from the family, faith, patience, and service that had always 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. The tree also preserves an open place for Zuma Barnett McKellar’s parents, whose identities have not yet been confirmed.
1884–1962 · wife not yet identified
Harris Community near Homer, Louisiana
1868–1960 · 1873–1952 · strongly indicated
Zuma Barnett McKellar’s parents remain an open research question.
1910–1991 · 1911–1987
1894–1972 · 1897–1991
married Sandy Spohn
married Tim Wheelahan
partner Mark Weber
A life in motion
A few moments that show Gwen moving through family, friendship, service, teaching, and the occasional 10K.
Gwen is born in Minden, Louisiana, into a big, close North Louisiana family whose relationships and traditions would remain part of her life for decades.
DocumentedFamily history remembers Gwen as a student at the school now known as Louisiana Tech, where she belonged to Phi Mu and met Billy McKellar. Her class year and major remain to be found.
Family-confirmedSeventeen days after their indexed engagement announcement, Gwen and Billy marry and begin a life together that would last 65 years.
DocumentedWhile Billy established his pediatric practice, Gwen became active in the Junior League of Longview. Together they raised Bill, Diane, and Jim and began building the family life that would remain at the center of everything.
Family-confirmedThe family settles in Bossier City, where Gwen builds another community through church, volunteer service, friendship, and family life.
DocumentedAfter Bill, Diane, and Jim were grown, Gwen returned to school, earned her preschool certification, and spent years teaching young children at First United Methodist Church of Bossier City.
Family-confirmedIn their seventies, Gwen and her younger sister Jamie complete two Cajun Cup 10Ks together. In 2008, they cross the finish line just four-tenths of a second apart.
DocumentedGwen remains at the center of a family that now includes children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, along with friendships and traditions that have endured across generations.
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.
His obituary, occupation, exact home address, marriage record, burial place, and a confirmed photograph.
Mother · Smith family
December 2, 1911 – April 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]
Iru’s obituary ties the Smith, Almond, and McKellar branches together across a century.
June 30, 1935 – January 17, 2015
Born in Minden, Jamie Carolyn Almond appears in the 1955 Louisiana Tech Lagniappe as a sophomore majoring in Secretarial Science and a member of Phi Mu. She married Robert Edward Gaither and became a longtime Lafayette resident, homemaker, active member of Asbury United Methodist Church, tennis player, and bridge player. Her sons were Kevin and Michael Gaither. [2] [13]
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 strongly indicated as his sons. [10]
Sixty-five years together
They built a life shaped by family, medicine, church, friendship, and a yearly trip to the beach.
Gwen and Billy built their life together across Louisiana and East Texas, raising Bill, Diane and Jim while Billy practiced pediatrics and Gwen made homes, friendships, and communities in each place. Across an unusually long medical career, patients and colleagues remembered Billy for his skill, gentleness, patience, and integrity. At home, life also meant running, ping-pong, the Dallas Cowboys, bridge with Gwen, church, and yearly beach trips. [1] [24]
Billy led pediatrics at Barksdale Air Force Base for 25 years, then spent another 26 years as a pediatric consultant for Louisiana Disability Determination Services. He retired in 2017, at about 85. [1]
Former colleagues called Billy one of the kindest and most honorable physicians they had known. Younger doctors remembered his gentle expertise, patience, and example. [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
The next generations show how Gwen’s family continues to grow and stay connected.
married Sandy Spohn · July 29, 1978
married Tim Wheelahan · December 6, 1986
partner Mark Weber · January 28, 1998
Katie Beville · Kristen McKellar · Megan Descant · Mary Lauren Barcelona · Matt McKellar · Madeline Davison
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. It described a network of siblings, cousins, homes, meals, trips, and reunions that remained active across generations.
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.
Mary, born in 1911, worked as a bookkeeper for Turner Lumber Co. and was a longtime member of Beech Springs Baptist Church. A 1956 oil-and-gas instrument lists Vander Almond as a party to a Webster Parish leasehold agreement. Transcribed Gilgal Church records also include Vander and other Almonds, among them J. J., H. M., Walter, Marvin, and Fate Almond. Their exact relationships are not yet assigned.
02
Vander Almond Road still exists outside Minden. Nearby roads include Almond Circle, Almond Road, Henry Almond Road, and Joe Almond Lane. The concentration points to a meaningful local footprint, but no ordinance has yet been found proving whom each road honors.
Was “the farm” remembered by later generations connected to Vander’s documented property interests? The idea is plausible, not proven.
Family stories and discoveries
Genealogy is strongest when the names and dates lead back to how people actually spent time together.
The “Minden Family” gathered around 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. Gwen remained part of that close family culture for decades. [27]
The school then known as Louisiana Polytechnic Institute became a recurring family place. Gwen and Billy met there, according to family history, and Gwen’s Phi Mu membership is family-confirmed. The 1955 Lagniappe independently lists Jamie Carolyn Almond as both a sophomore in Secretarial Science and a Phi Mu member. Turner Jr. later led the Student Senate, and Kristen also enrolled at Tech. Gwen’s class year, major, portrait, and Phi Mu group page remain to be found. [13] [23] [25]
John Dougal McKellar is strongly indicated as William Narl’s father and Billy’s grandfather. From John to Billy’s grandson, the family line spans five generations. The name Dougal appears in four of them: John Dougal McKellar, Billy Dougal McKellar, William Dougal McKellar, and James Matthew Dougal McKellar.
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]
The parents of Zuma Barnett McKellar have not yet been confirmed. Identifying them remains one of the principal open questions in the McKellar family history.
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, while Turner Jr. had only recently completed college.
Family knowledge is valuable evidence, but it is identified separately from outside documentation. Gwen’s college attendance, Phi Mu membership, meeting Billy there, Junior League work, hospital volunteering, preschool certification, and teaching are labeled family-confirmed until direct institutional records are located. The 1950 newspaper result is an OCR lead until the page is reviewed; a 1950 Minden High graduation and a childhood or classmate connection with Peggy Padgham remain research leads, not established facts.