Gail Emily Fox MacLean passed on January 12th, 2025. She was 94 years old. For the last two years, since 2022, she has lived with the assistance of her family in her apartment at Revel Independent Living in Lacey, Washington. She passed peacefully at home under the watchful and loving care of her family and Assured Hospice.

Gail was the beloved matriarch of her family. She was a daughter, sister, niece, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and is survived by her three sons, Rick, Dave and John, her three grandchildren, Jasmine, Madeline and Ian, and her great-grandchild, little Emmett.

Gail was born in the midst of the depression in 1930 in Carbondale, Illinois. She lived for the very first years of her life on the Sturm family farm in Crab Orchard. From here she and her family moved to Paducah, Kentucky. It was here that she was raised and completed her studies at Tilghman High School in 1948. She met her husband, Tom MacLean, at Murray State College. Gail and Tom had three boys, Rick, Dave and John, and after living for a short period of time in Richmond and Louisville, Gail's young family moved across the country to Bellevue, Washington for a job at Boeing.

In addition to being a dedicated mother, Gail earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education at the University of Washington in 1961 and worked for many years as an elementary school teacher in Bellevue. In 1980, she received her Master of Counseling from Seattle University. After this milestone, she worked as a school counselor in Bellevue. For 15 years while living in Bellevue, she was a violinist in the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1992, she retired from Bellevue Public Schools and continued work as a school counselor internationally at the American International School in Kuwait, and then at the International School of Bejing in the mid 1990s. In 2007, she moved to the Jubilee community in Lacey, Washington to be closer to her grandchildren. In 2019 and 2020, at age 89 and 90, she lived for 9 months in Vienna, Austria and Budva, Montenegro with her granddaughter, Jasmine, to fulfill a dream of travelling together.

Gail was a world traveller, having been to 48 countries. She liked to joke that she could write a book about all of the toilets that she had experienced in China. She loved to experience new cultures and to make new friends from all walks of life. She was as open-hearted as they come.

Loved by many, Gail was an essential pillar within her many communities. She was the matriarch of her family, she was politically active in the Olympia community, she was the founder of the "Vashon Vixens" dinner group in her Jubilee community, an active member of her Sorority (Tri Sigma), and served as role model to everyone she met. She loved to socialize and could always be counted on to lend an ear, give advice and be there for support when you needed her. And, of course, she always brought life to the party. Wherever Gail was, bright, warm light followed. 

In her memory, a service will be held at 2pm on February 8th, 2025 at the United Churches of Olympia, near the capitol building in Olympia, Washington. All who knew and loved Gail are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to World Vision, an organization Gail supported throughout her life.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/gail-maclean/obituary/

Copy