BBBTV12 Serving Anderson, Roane, and Morgan Counties
Linda Gayle Boroughs, 83, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee passed away peacefully on July 30, 2026. Gayle was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and part of the Oak Ridge community for 60 years. She was preceded in death by her husband Gerald “Cotton” Boroughs, her father Johnny Hastings Jones, and her mother Ethel Juanita Jones. Gayle is survived by three children and five grandchildren including her son Jon Boroughs, his wife Eileen, and their sons Isaak and Billy of Chattanooga, Tennessee; son Craig Boroughs of Keystone, Colorado; and daughter Jilleah Gayle Welch, her husband Billy Welch, and their sons Wyatt, Jacob, and Oscar of Farragut, Tennessee.
Gayle was born February 6, 1943, in Sardis, Tennessee. She spent her entire childhood there and graduated from Sardis High School in 1961 with honors. She attended Memphis State University on scholarship and majored in Education. She met her future husband Cotton from nearby Saltillo while in Sardis and they were married June 1, 1963. They initially lived in Memphis, Tennessee, which Gayle loved. She was an only child and was very close to her three aunts (Beulah, Stella, and Billie) and five cousins (Bob, Sandra, Marilyn, Alicia, and Vaughn). She has said she was initially less than enthusiastic about moving farther away from all of her family to Oak Ridge, but after she and Cotton made the move in 1966, she quickly began to form connections to the Oak Ridge community and began to form what would turn out to be many lifelong friendships.
Her professional career began in elementary education in Memphis, followed by Clinton, Tennessee. She later attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, earning a Master of Education, and spent the rest of her teaching career teaching special education at Oak Ridge High School. Being a teacher for Gayle was a passion. She touched many lives as an educator, especially those with special needs. She always enjoyed running into former students and their families, and her face would light up hearing about their lives and accomplishments after high school. After retirement, she was an active member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society and continued to support education in Oak Ridge in any way she could.
She attended First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge for over forty years and was at various times an active member of the adult choir, ladies circle program, the Fellowship Sunday School program, as well as multiple bible study programs.
It was after retirement that Gayle developed a love of bridge. She loved the intellectual challenge of the game and sense of community. For some time, she played competitively and would even travel for tournaments, but mostly it was about friendship and community. She eventually convinced Cotton to play, though he said he was never as good as she was.
Gayle also loved cooking and had a natural gift for it. She particularly loved cooking for her family and friends. She accumulated and refined many family recipes over the years that her children would always request when returning home for a visit. Being a teacher, she enjoyed passing her skills on to her children and grandchildren. Even in later years when her health was declining she loved teaching her grandsons how to bake an apple pie or make homemade cookies.
The greatest joy in her life was her family. She loved her three children and adored her five grandsons. She was passionate about the importance and value of education and took pride in instilling that value in her kids, and she reveled in the inability to say no to her grandsons.
The family extends heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Dr. Diane Fabricius and her staff, who provided wonderful care for Gayle for over 25 years. They would also like to thank the many specialists, therapists, and caregivers who participated in her care in recent years. Finally, they would like to thank NHC Farragut and Amedysis Hospice Care for their compassionate care for mom in her final weeks.
A receiving of friends will be at First United Methodist Church at 11:00 AM on Saturday September 5th, followed immediately by a celebration of life at 12 PM. Following the service, an Internment Service will be in the First United Methodist Memorial Garden. The family requests that memorials be made to either the First United Methodist Adult or Youth Choir at 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 or to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation at Oak Ridge Schools, 304 New York Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, Attn: ORPSEF care of Mike Taylor, Executive Director.
