We are grieved to share that John Purifoy Gill, founder of Gill Ragon Owen, P.A., passed away on March 7, 2026 at the age of 89. John joined the United States Marine Corps and became a member of the Naval Judge Advocate General’s Corps when the Marine Corps learned he held a Juris Doctor. John retired as a Lieutenant Colonel before building a distinguished legal career in Little Rock.
He was a delegate to the 1969 Arkansas Constitutional Convention and served as special counsel to the Governor for the proposed Arkansas Constitution Revision of 1996. He was on the faculty of the Arkansas College of Trial Advocacy, and an original member of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure. He had considerable expertise in water-related legal matters, was an author of tax-free municipal bond legislation and was a member of the Arkansas Water Code Study Commission in 1981-82. He was past President of the Arkansas Bar Association and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was instrumental in adding the Attorney Oath of Office to the Arkansas Law License. John was very proud of the legal legacy he created in the people of Gill, Ragon, and Owen, one of the largest law firms in the state with 55 professional and staff members.
His broad community leadership, from church service to youth and civic organizations, reflected a life devoted to nurturing both minds and spirits. He gave countless hours of his time and expertise to a variety of organizations across the state.
His passion and love for his home state of Arkansas was legendary and well documented in four of seven books he published including On the Courthouse Square in Arkansas co-authored with Marjem, Post Masters (Arkansas Post Office Art in the New Deal), Open House (The Arkansas Governor’s Mansion and It’s Place in History), and The Cross Roads of Arkansas. He was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe to the State Parks Commission in 2011 and thoroughly enjoyed 12 years of service to the State Parks. John was an avid supporter of Preserve Arkansas and was awarded the Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2019. His love of the state, history and art converged as he curated an extensive collection of historical Arkansas maps, many of which have been loaned for display at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
He was extremely proud of his impact on various landmarks in the state including strategic planning, fund raising, and renovations of the Little Rock Visitor Information Center at Historic Curran Hall and the Firehouse Hostel in MacArthur Park; installations of the La Petite Roche plaque and historical marker at the Little Rock River Market, the original glass sculpture “Straight Lines on a Round World” at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock and the portrait of Scipio Jones, a leading civil rights attorney in the downtown Little Rock post office by the same name.
He is survived by his beloved wife of almost 66 years, Marjem; brother George Gill and his wife Sallie of Barrington Hills, IL; daughter Elizabeth Gill Myers and her husband Chris of Providence Forge, Virginia; son Ward Gill and his wife Kimberly of Rogers; and son David Gill and his partner Wendy of Little Rock. John also is survived by his seven grandchildren Emma Myers, Colin Myers, Haley Arismendi, Kelsey Moreland, Madison Scroggins, Sarah Mead, and Mary Claire Gill as well as six great grandchildren.