Lorraine Gilson
Lorraine Gilson is the 2015 Mercer County Hall of Fame posthumous inductee and part of a MCHF first, enshrined as a mother-daughter combo with Carrie (Gilson) Bastin at the same banquet.She was an outstanding athlete at Grove City High School, graduating in 1952 long before the era of women participating in acknowledged PIAA high school sports.But was in coaching that "Coach G" was a true Hall of Famer. In 32 years of teaching at Grove City High School she coached and sponsored many intramural sports from bowling to cheerleading, majorettes to pep club.She had a passion for the sport of tennis and influenced hundreds of children and adults for more than three decades.
In 32 years as head varsity boys tennis coach at GCHS, her teams recorded 298 wins and only 88 losses. In 2008, her last year of coaching before succumbing to cancer, she recorded an incredible 24th consecutive winning season.
In her coaching tenure, her teams won 9 Tri-County championships. While she had many individual District 10 Championship players who advanced to states, two of her teams (2005, 2006) won D-10 team titles and her 2005 and 2007 teams won regional championships.In 2001, a select group of tennis parents game her a congratulatory banquet to honor 25 years of coaching and more than 100 past and present players attended. She received state proclamations and Grove City Mayor Bruce Bennett named May 24, 2001, as Lorraine Gilson Day in the borough.
She directed her "Summer G's Tennis Camp" for more than 20 years at the Grove City College courts and helped many players improve their games.She will always be remembered for her passion for tennis, but also for the love she had for the many players she trained.
Her favorite bible verse for her teams was from Galations 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up."Even in her fight against cancer, she exemplified that motto to the end, never giving up and leaving a legacy of greatness for others to follow.