Illona Gayle Grigg Hull passed away peacefully on March 27, 2025 at the age of 78. She was born March 8, 1947 to Helen Binkley and Beuford (John) Grigg as the oldest of their five children. Illona grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana until the family’s move to Maryland where she graduated from Gaithersburg High School.

She went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics at the University of Maryland, her Bachelor of Science from Louisiana Tech University and began her teaching career in Carroll County, MD. She married her husband, John “Jay” Hull, Jr. in 1971 after he returned from the Vietnam War and then resided with him on the Hullside Farm in Westminster.

In between raising her three kids, Heather, Ginger and Lucas, she went on to educate in Baltimore and Carroll Counties, for a total of 25 years. She loved quilting, reading and being creative, earning status as a National Best of Quilting teacher and a National Quilt Association Certified Judge. Her family was active in 4-H and the Hullside Farm was inducted as a Maryland Century Farm in 1994.

“Lona Gayle” was predeceased by her sister Denise Grigg Bloom. She is survived by her husband Jay, whom she was married for 53 years, siblings Karen Grigg Changuris (Terry), David Grigg (Renee), and Troy Grigg, children Heather Hull Whirley (Chip Whirley), Ginger Hull, and Lucas Hull (Jamie Thompson), and four grandchildren Hayden Irene, Caitlyn Ann, Indie Jade, and Dawson Ramsey.