Obituary: Jill Marker Guhy, 65

Jill Marker Guhy, 65, a truly beautiful and giving woman, died Monday, March 9, 2015, in Bardstown.

She was born on May 8, 1949, in Milwaukee, Wis. Her family moved to the West Coast in 1951 and she was raised in Torrance, Calif. As a young lady, she could play any song on the piano by ear. She sang beautifully, danced gracefully, and was an excellent gymnast at South High School and El Camino College. As a teenager, she spent a lot of time traveling and camping with her family and riding horses at the Red Barn. As a young woman, she worked as a bank teller and an orthodontist assistant. She always had a large group of friends, and had many suitors.

Her love for horses led her to Los Alamitos, where she met and married Gary Guhy in 1974. The couple made a home in Kentucky, where her daughter Amanda Lenore Guhy was born in 1976. She worked very hard through the years as a groom and trainer in the harness racing world, especially at Churchill Downs. She owned and operated CinderJills, a gift and flower shop in downtown Louisville. She eventually bought a small farm in Bloomfield hoping to have horses of her own someday.

When her beloved mother became ill, she took care of her in Henderson, Nev. where she worked at the Skyline Casino. After her mother passed away, her adventurous spirit needed a change, and she became a big rig truck driver at age 50. Her favorite stories were of the travels and adventures she and her faithful dog Lola would have on her runs, and “driving truck” became the job that she loved the most.

She always supported her family and people in need, and had an enormous and giving heart. She also had a wicked sense of humor, and laughter that brought a smile to those around her. Her greatest love was for her three grandchildren, and she was known to many friends and family members as Nana.

She was a most beautiful, talented, generous and loving human being, and always took care of her friends and family before herself. She beat a rough bout with breast cancer that years later returned elsewhere and quickly and quietly claimed her life. She passed away peacefully in Bardstown.

She will be greatly missed by all her family and her many, many friends.

She was preceded in death by her beloved mother and father, Lenore Viola Marker and Marvin Charles Marker and her older brother Jack William Marker.

She is survived by one daughter, Amanda Lenore Neafus; one sister, Jan Marker Zahn (Tom); two brothers Jon M. Marker and James C. Marker (Merrill); three grandchildren, Austin Neafus (Ashlea), Alyk Codie Covemaker, and Ashtin Chance Bernal; two aunts; two uncles; six cousins; two nephews; one niece; one great-nephew; and one great-niece.

Cremation was chosen by the family.

The Houghlin Funeral Home of Bloomfield is in charge of arrangements.

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