Gail Bristol, a former managing director of the Society of Plastics Engineers who later held leadership roles at the Plastics Pioneers Association, died Dec. 9. She was 81.
Bristol worked for SPE for 33 years, retiring as managing director in 2014. She played a major role in 1996 in creating the SPE Foundation, which provides scholarships for students planning on entering the plastics industry.
An obituary on Patch.com said Bristol, of Brookfield, Conn., died at Danbury Hospital. It said memorial contributions can be made in her name to the American Cancer Society.
According to an announcement in SPE's Plastics Engineering magazine at the time of her retirement, Bristol "single-handedly brought to life" the SPE Foundation and also served as its managing director, leaving it with a $2 million financial base when she retired.
After retiring from SPE, Bristol became president and then managing director of the Plastics Pioneers Association, according to former SPE President Lance Neward. She also volunteered at other organizations in Connecticut and served as president of her condominium board until this year, he added.
"After Gail left SPE, she let very little grass grow under her feet. Retirement wasn't really in her lexicon," Neward said. "For those who knew and worked with her, she will be sorely missed and long remembered."
Bristol is survived by two daughters, Kelly P. Bristol (Larry Holt) and Karen Foley (Bryan); grandchildren Brendan, Lauren and Sean; sibling Angus J. Seamans III; half-brother Alan Stillman; and stepsisters Anne Higby-Pusateri and Barbara Higby Sherman, along with other relatives and friends.