Linell (Henderson) Gatison

Mrs. Linell Gatison, 90, of Ansonia, CT. was quietly called home on April 23, 2023, at Hewitt Health & Rehab facility in Shelton, CT.   Mrs. Gatison was born on April 29, 1932, in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She was the third child of four born to the late Junious Henderson and the late Peachie E. (Sharpless) Henderson. 

Linell attended Hawkside Elementary School and later graduated from Georgetown High School in Jacksonville, NC.  She later moved to Waterbury, CT where she would meet her husband to be.  She also became an employee of Southbury Training School in Southbury, CT., where she completed a decade of service helping those with disabilities achieve their fullest potential. 

Linell was united in holy matrimony on March 6, 1954, to the late Elder James E. Gatison in Waterbury CT., where they resided for 10 years.  In 1964, they moved to Oakville, CT, where their family continued to grow.  They were proud parents of four sons and three daughters.  The couple eventually moved and settled in Hartsville, South Carolina in 1977.

Linell truly loved the Lord and was an awesome woman of God. At an early age she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior.  She was deeply rooted in her Christian faith as she loved to worship in the privacy of her own home as well as in church.  In her early years she was a faithful and active member of the Deliverance Church of God in Christ under the teaching of Reverend James Harrison (founder), Elder James E. Gatison and Elder Alfred J. Warren. 

Linell has a long history of volunteering her time to support those in need.  She would pick up church mothers from work and take them to carry out various weekly tasks such as grocery shopping or banking and volunteer in her children’s schools as a classroom or lunchroom aide.

Linell loved watching Gospel programs, spending summers with her grandchildren, family visits, attending high school reunions with her late sister Avon, her dogs and taking long baths.  She took pride in her home inside and out.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to find her painting the inside of the house or outside gardening. Linell was a planner and carried out thoughtful acts such as sending yearly birthday cards to family members and friends.  She was loved by and, in her late years, watched overyg by close friends in her neighborhood and community in Hartsville, SC. 

Linell leaves to cherish her memory her children Dorothy Swinton, Gale Gatison-Byrd, Earvin L. Gatison (Denise), Pastor James A. Gatison (Lady Christine), Gregory Gatison, Dariann Gatison and Malcolm G. Gatison (Mary); grandchildren Lenora Smith, Theresa Swinton Madden, Alonzo Swinton and Herald Swinton Jr., Danyell Jackson (Milton), Lin Byrd, Aaron Byrd, Jason Gatison (Jen), Earvina Jones (Joseph), Elese Montambault (Jeremy), Zorrah E. Gatison, Curtis Rodriguez-Porter(Luis), Darnell Porter, Malcolm Gatison Jr., Taylor Ritter (Justin), Imani and Nia Gatison; thirty great grandchildren; seven great great grandchildren; special sister-in-law Lilly Henderson; special nephew Brian H. Jackson; special nieces Margie Smith and Dorothy Gandy; special family friend Arthur “Peter” Scott from South Carolina; a host of extended grandchildren and great grandchildren; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. 

In addition to her parents, Mother Gatison was also predeceased by her husband of 45 years Elder James E. Gatison; brothers, Alfred and Raymond Henderson; sister Avon Elizabeth Jackson; sister-in-law Maggie Gatison; sons-in-law Harold Swinton and Lucas Byrd; grandchildren, Lundi Swinton, Malcolm A. Gatison and Lester Smith.

Location: The New Deliverance Church of God in Christ, 25 Crown Street, Waterbury

on Monday, May 1st 2023

Viewing Time: 9:00am to 9:30am

Service Time: 9:30am to 11:00am

Interment: State Veterans Cemetery by 1:00pm, 317 Bow Lane, Middletown, CT 06457

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