June 12, 2026
Leesburg Philanthropist and Business Leader Gail Gregg-Strimenos Dies at 78
By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg Philanthropist and Business Leader Gail Gregg-Strimenos Dies at 78
Gail Elizabeth Gregg-Strimenos, a prominent Leesburg philanthropist, business executive and matriarch of a family long active in Lake County development and civic life, died earlier this week. She was 78 years-old.
Gail served as president of the Gregg-Strimenos Foundation and as CEO and chairman of Family Dynamics Inc. She was known for her leadership in local philanthropy, support for health care and children’s causes, and contributions to community institutions in Leesburg and surrounding areas.
Born June 5, 1947, in Charleston, South Carolina, she moved as a child with her family to Leesburg, where her father was from. She graduated from Leesburg High School as a cheerleader and honor student. After high school, Gail studied interior design at Agnes Scott College after being told “women could never be architects”. So Gail she set out to study Interior Design and become the architect of her own life turning her Leesburg home into one of Lake County’s most stunning estates.
But much like Gail’s father F. Browne Gregg who was a WWII pilot having flown 37 missions over Nazi Germany and became one of Lake County’s most recognized entrepreneurs, you could never tell Gail the odds. F. Browne Gregg is memorialized at Leesburg Veteran Memorial Park.
When she was finished with school, Gail founded First Impressions Designs and served on the board of directors of CenterState Bank. She was a longtime member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood Chapter BH and held leadership roles in family agricultural and development businesses.
“Whether she was negotiating a corporate merger, drawing house plans, cooking holiday dinners, or selecting the perfect shades of silk taffeta drapes, she was meticulous, decisive, and ahead of schedule,” the family says.
Together with her husband, Peter Strimenos, whom she was together with for 30 loving years, she helped manage family enterprises and philanthropic efforts. The Gregg family has long been recognized for their extensive dedication to the growth and development of Lake County and surrounding areas including Hospice of Lake and Sumter Counties, Morrison United Methodist Church, Leesburg Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department and Beacon College.
As president of the Gregg-Strimenos Foundation, she continued the family’s tradition of giving with contributions to Camp Boggy Creek, Lake Sumter Children’s Advocacy Center, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF and other groups.
“While Gail was admired for her talents, professional success, deep-rooted family ties, and Southern elegance, her life was not without incredible hardships,” the family says. “Faith was instrumental in her life and sustained her through the unimaginable loss of her daughter Kristin in 2007. She faced the most profound challenges in life with grit and grace, and still somehow managed to make everything around her more beautiful.”
And what a beautiful home it is. Stunning from the moment you first lay eyes on the property to the interior rooms and gardenias. The house features designs that are simply unmatched by anything of its kind in our area. Put simply the house is a complete piece of art. Meticulously crafted and a lasting legacy of the beautiful family Gail and Peter built together.
The family went on to say, “Gail fought an unforgiving illness with remarkable courage and unyielding inner strength. Supported by the love of family, faith, and friends she held on until it was her calling. In that brief season when the gardenias had reached their full blossom, their fragrance drifting in and out of the home and the life she had built, with her husband, family, and beloved dogs by her side, Gail peacefully took her last breaths to reunite with those who had left before her.”
She is survived by her husband, Peter Strimenos; sons John Mason and Randy Mason; sister Jeannie Emack; brother Frederick Browne Gregg; stepdaughters Artemis and Alexis; grandsons Trevor, Keanu, Finn and Kalais; great-granddaughter Sadie Rose; and many nieces, nephews and friends.
A Celebration of Life is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Juanita Gregg Family Life Center at Morrison United Methodist Church, 1005 W. Main St., Leesburg.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Camp Boggy Creek or Lake Sumter Children’s Advocacy Center.
Arrangements are by Beyers Funeral Home of Leesburg.
Photos by Beyers Funeral Home & Crematory and Zillow
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
