Lois M Speaker, Ph.D., age 81, of Peachtree City died in the early hours of Saturday, Aug. 20, at Brightmoor Hospice in Griffin, where she had been a patient for the previous three weeks.
A retired chemist, Dr. Speaker had resided in Peachtree City for 16 years. She and her husband, Joe T. Gilliland, moved from their former residence in the Brookfield subdivision to the Somerby Assisted Living Facility on Rockaway Road in December 2013.
Born near Neptune, N.J, Dr. Speaker was a graduate of Maryville College in Maryville, Tenn. Later, she earned a master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Tennessee and her Ph.D. from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She was a trailblazer for women in the sciences.
During her professional career, she was a staff scientist for Southern Research in Birmingham, for the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, and for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y. While at Kodak, she was lead scientist in the Chemical Technologies Department of the company’s Federal Systems Division.
One of her accomplishments was the development of an anti-fouling compound added to paint that was credited with potentially saving the Navy millions of dollars annually in costs for scraping and repainting of ships, including aircraft carriers. This anti-fouling research also led to technologies used in the manufacture of contact lenses. She shared a number of other patents with Georgia Tech. Three of her technical publications, although out of print, are still listed on Amazon.
After her retirement from Kodak, she moved to Peachtree City to be near her daughters, all of whom live in the Atlanta area. In those early retirement years, she was active in Peachtree City New Neighbors, tutored many students in chemistry, taught at Clayton State College and taught children’s Sunday School classes at Congregation Bínai Israel in Fayetteville. All her adult life, she had an active interest in the arts and the natural world, as well as in the history of Europe and the Middle East, where she traveled extensively. Two community environmental causes benefited from her skills. In one, she volunteered as science officer for a citizen task force formed in 2006 to battle a company that was aerosolizing a foul smelling, hazardous substance and releasing it into the air. More recently, she was a leading voice protesting the Fayette County Water Department’s casual attitude toward maintaining water purity standards – a protest that eventually led to organizational reforms in the water system.
In addition to her husband, Dr. Speaker is survived by three daughters, Leslie Stewart of Decatur, and Alison Payton and Kathryn Stewart, both of Griffin; a step-daughter, Anne Gilliland of Durham, N.C., and a step-son, Don Gilliland of Birmingham; one sister, Ruth Sloan of Columbus, Ohio; one brother, Richard Speaker, Neptune, N.J.; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Her beloved dog, “Happy,” also survives. A memorial service for Dr. Speaker will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at Congregation Bínai Israel, located at 1633 Georgia Highway 54, east of downtown Fayetteville toward Jonesboro.
The family has suggested that memorial gifts be made to Congregation Bínai Israel through its mailing address of P.O. Box 142481, Fayetteville, Ga. 30218, or to Maryville College, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, Tenn. 37804.
