Gail Beattie Driscoll

Gail Beattie Driscoll, 89, of York County, S.C. passed away peacefully after a long illness with Alzheimer’s on June 2, 2023, at Matthews Health and Rehabilitation in Matthews, N.C. She was a graduate of Clover High School, in Clover, S.C., and Katherine Gibbs School of Secretarial and Social Etiquette in New York. Over her long career she excelled in her field as a legal secretary and later paralegal. Her shorthand and typing skills were renowned. Twice she was elected Legal Secretary of the Year. Her employers included the F.B.I. in New York, The law firm of Sol Levine and Arthur Goodman, as well as Hedrick, Parham, and Helms in Charlotte, N.C. After retirement she returned to the workforce for five years as Administrative Assistant to her son-in-law, Richard Miller. He always had her sit in on meetings. Within an hour she would present him detailed minutes. He never found a single mistake.

She was born to the late Glenn Vipperman Beattie and Ruth Brandon Beattie in Belmont, N.C. at home on September 23, 1933, during the depression. Her father worked as an engineer in the mill. Ruth and Glenn saved and bought a farm near Ruth’s father’s family in Bethel Community of York County, S.C., commonly known as Lake Wylie right before the onset of WW II. The family suffered many hardships, including the loss of their antebellum home to fire during World War II. She met her future husband, Cornelius (Neil) Driscoll, Jr, in Brooklyn, New York, while living with her Aunt Ruth and Uncle Pat. They were married in 1956 and she brought her new husband home to the Carolinas prior to the birth of their son, Keith.

Gail was an excellent artist and square dancer. She enjoyed singing in the choir and was an active environmentalist. She was a vibrant and engaging person who loved bird watching, kayaking, hiking, and camping. She had a soft heart and could always be counted on to root for the underdog. Gail had a sweet naivety that often perplexed her children, but she also taught them the virtues of mercy, kindness, compassion, loyalty, as well as a love for reading, history, music, outdoors, and storytelling.

Gail is survived by her five children, Keith Driscoll and wife Dottie Bryant, Connie Driscoll and husband Richard (Rocky) Miller, Michael (Mike) Driscoll and wife Lori Hazen Driscoll, Daniel (Danny) Allen Driscoll and fiancée Christine McAllister, and Terri Womack Daspit and husband, Bob Daspit; 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, three nephews, a great-niece, and two great-nephews, as well as many others who called her friend and Grandma Gail. She has gone home to be with those who have preceded her in death: her parents, Glenn and Ruth Beattie, her husband, Cornelius Driscoll, Jr., her much loved siblings, Glenn Brandon Beattie, and Clarissa Beattie Disbrow, as well as her precious great-niece Clarissa Disbrow as well as her many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

In leu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made in her honor to Divine Savior Parrish (https://www.divine-saviour.org), The Oratory of Rock Hill (https://rockhilloratory.org), or the Catawba River Foundation (https://www.catawbariverkeeper.org).

The funeral will be at 10 am, Saturday June 10 at Palmetto Funeral Home in Fort Mill, S.C., 2049 Carolina Place Drive, Fort Mill, S.C. 29708. Father John Giulliani, long time family priest and friend will officiate. Family and friends are invited to the home of Daniel Driscoll and Christine McAllister in Chester, S.C. following the service for a picnic lunch.