James "J.R." Roy Gill

James Roy “J.R.” Gill—father, husband, grandfather, lifelong adventurer and proud Aggie—passed away May 1. At age 95, he left the world peacefully in his sleep.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Monday, May 11, 2026 at Boxwell Brothers, 2800 Paramount Blvd, Amarillo, TX. Interment will follow at his birthplace of Miami, TX. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors.

J.R. Gill was a third generation Texan from the Panhandle. He was born on February 9, 1931, at home at the Gill family’s ranch near Miami, TX, located in Roberts County—known for its sprawling ranches, rolling prairie landscape, and annual National Cow Calling Contest. J.R. attended Miami public schools, played sports, and worked with his family raising cattle and growing crops.

Gill attended Texas A&M College, where he majored in agriculture and served in the Corps of Cadets. He was drafted into the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Bliss; there he was selected for a radar project at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland in 1954–55 during the Korean War. After finishing his degree in College Station, J.R. returned to the Panhandle, where he met Mary Joyce Organ. They married in 1958, lived in Amarillo and Bushland, TX, and eventually built a house on Indian Hills Road to raise a family of three: Vivian, Lauren, and David.

J.R.’s work as Assistant Potter County Agricultural Agent kept him busy advising area farmers and ranchers as well as mentoring 4-H youngsters who showed their animals at stock shows. He later managed the Bushland Co-op grain elevator and Center Plains Grain. In the early 1980s, J.R. ventured out on his own—with Clarendon Grain Elevators in Amarillo, Dalhart, Landergin and Clarendon.

In 1986, Gill married Elizabeth Ann Kozar and helped raise her son B.J., then 5 years old. J.R. and Liz met at the Amarillo Yacht Club, a Lake Meredith sailing club, where they together won multiple Top-of-Texas and other sailing regattas. They later co-founded and operated RV Plus in Amarillo, providing a host of recreational vehicle storage services.

Gill was a lifelong learner and studied aviation, photography, scuba and sailing. J.R.’s sense of adventure prompted him to fly, ski, fish and trek throughout the Southwest, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe, and he loved to share adventures with his friends and family.

Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth “Liz” Gill; his children, Vivian Gill, Lauren Gill, and David Gill; his stepson, B.J. Chennault; and five grandchildren: Alejandro, Julia, Bennett, Pablo, and Maria; and great-grandchild, Paizley.

Charitable donations can be made to the Roberts County Museum, P.O. Box 30, Miami, TX 79059, (806) 868-3291; or to the Amarillo A&M Club, amarilloaggies.aggienetwork.com/donate