Gail was a colleague, friend and mentor to me. She was always there whenever I needed a chat, rant – whatever. We had a mutual love of flowers, and she convinced me to add peonies to my garden. Now every spring they come up, I will think of her. In fact, that’s always how I think of her, surrounded by flowers. She (and Betty) would always give me a video tour of whatever was coming up in her garden when we chatted through the years.
To say I miss her is an understatement. Her sense of humor and quick wit is what I miss most, but also her ability to just be there for someone and give direct, honest advice. She was a great friend and a gem of a human being. She was a beautiful, inside and out and I hope she found peace after everything she’s been through this past year.
I asked her advice on shoes once, asking if I could get her fashion advice and helped me find the perfect pair of rubber boots to wear around our farm (she laughed as she knew I couldn’t have meant heels). She must have shopped through every single online store she could think of. She found me the absolute BEST pair, they have little bees all over them. I wear them still, and think of her. That’s who she was, going to the ends of the earth – above and beyond to help someone. She once spent hours walking me through preparation of Betty’s food when I had a question about changing my own dog’s food, as she walked me through the (very lengthy) process, I thought “who has time to do this every week?”. Gail did, she found the time to do things 110%. Oh beautiful Betty, we both agreed – she’s worth it.
I will miss her tremendously. She had a massive impact on my life – both work and personal.
I have many favourite Gail stories and memories it is hard to sum up into one. Overall though Gail and I could not be more different. She was stylish and a fashion influencer, I am a mom of two who wears flats. But for some reason we were the right and left hand of each other.
I loved how she would always tell you where things were at, the truth you always knew but needed someone to say. I loved her creativity, her story telling and the great recipes she would be planning from the New Yorker Magazine.
The passion she took in her garden, her house, her dog, her style. We always said we were each other’s sister in a previous life and the fact we were both Swedish didn’t hurt reinforcing that.
Rest peacefully my friend. I am sad that we lost touch over the years, but I am forever grateful for our extremely close friendship during our teenage years. You will be forever beautiful & always in my heart. Fly high with the angels.