Remembering Gayle

From Debbie Willen.

Laura and I have been best friends since we met in 1967
at Wiley Junior High, just after my family moved to University Heights.

From the moment I met Gayle, we became friends.
She was warm from the get-go with me and my hubby Howard.
She always told Howard he was “one of the good guys”.
They played catch together, went to the Indian’s games together,
talked baseball ENDLESSLY.

We would invite them to share a meal, and Gayle would insist
that I not tire myself out. She and Laura would arrive with bags
and boxes filled with an abundance of yummies.

Gayle was one of the most generous people I have had the good
fortune of knowing. I valued our friendship and never imagined it
would end so abruptly…and way too early.

I have many snapshots running through my head…
Her coaching me when I played on a woman’s softball team one season.
Watching her magic in the kitchen. She was an outstanding cook!
Assembling jig-saw puzzles together.
Making titanium earrings together.
Being taught how to make pipe cleaner animals.
Watching her play her electric bass and sing at Cain Park, and at
The Willoughby Brewing Company. She was AWESOME!!

My parents loved Gayle and Laura like family.
When my dad was in rehab at Montefiore, they came to visit.
With a smile my dad asked Gayle to sing him a song. In her most glorious,
operatic voice, she belted out “In the House of the Rising Sun”,
one of his favorites. He rewarded her with his signature twinkle in his eyes.

Gayle and Laura spent hours helping me sort and pack when my parents
moved from our family home to an apartment. They were always available
at the drop of a hat.

One summer afternoon they showed up at my house to help me varnish the
shake siding of our porch. That’s the kindness they showed, and the list goes
on and on. How many times did Amazon pull up and deliver some unexpected
Item…vitamins, oils, a strawberry huller (because I enjoyed using it at their home
one time), spices, organic consommé. And so much more.

Numerous times, Gayle researched subjects on my behalf, and sent links when she
thought they might be helpful. She had the most amazing capacity for
compassion, and went above and beyond in the name of friendship.

So how does one remember such a friend? She personally enriched
MY life, and I can only hope that I gave back even HALF of what she gave me.

I will always be grateful for her many kindnesses, and gratified for the love she
and my best friend shared. And as heartbroken as I was to see them
leave Cleveland, I understood the necessity for their move to Vermont.
Living in a state that legally recognized their marriage was unquestionably
the wisest decision they ever made together!

Gayle lives on in an endless repertoire of memories.

And I will forever hear her voice in my head, greeting Howard with MY nickname
for him…
“Hi Dolly!”

Debbie Segal Willen and Howard Willen