Gail Marie Snelling

Gail was born in Fort Collins, Colorado on March 05, 1925 and made her journey to heaven on November 28, 2018. Gail is survived by her daughter Constance (Jim) of Prescott, daughter Robyn (Dave) of Fort Collins, younger sister Kay of Idaho Falls. Her grandson’s Tyler, Brandon and granddaughter Caileigh, grandchildren Steve, Scott and Susan and great grandchildren Samantha and Kyle. 5 nieces Debbie, Laurie, Jennifer, Julie and Penny and 4 nephews Jerry, Ted, James and Eric. She was preceded in death by her daughter Judith Ann, Son Richard Dean, father Fred and mother Nellie, sisters Ellen, Margaret and Kathrine, brother-in-law’s Layman, Norwood and Ernest. Gail spent the majority of her 93 years right here in Fort Collins. When she was young the family lived on a farm by Terry Lake which she remembered fondly. She lived through the great depression years and had a deep respect for the basic things in life. She spent her high school years enduring all of the things that WWII brought to her life. They moved to California so that her father could work in manufacturing equipment for the war. Gail was back in Fort Collins in time to finish high school and graduate with her class in 1943 at Fort Collins High School. Mom certainly had a lot of stories to tell. Following high school she was married and began her family. Mom decided that being a beautician was what she really wanted to do and she was certainly great at making people look beautiful! She traveled to New York to study under Vidal Sassoon for a short while and had even more stories to tell. She owned several beauty shops throughout her life which proved to support her family many times. She was a bookkeeper and helped with many of our brother’s business ventures. Mom loved to travel to rodeos with her daughter Coni. There are also many stories to tell of those adventures. She was her daughter Robyn’s confidant, best friend and hero. Mom taught us all the value of counting our blessings instead of our shortcomings. When she retired she spent every minute she could loving on her grandchildren Tyler, Caileigh and Brandon and giving them strong roots to grow from. They have so many wonderful memories with her. Anyone who knew our mom and grandma know she was always helping others. She always put everyone else’s needs before her own. Mom loved her family with her whole heart and every ounce of love we could ask for. We were blessed to have many beautiful years with her and those memories are precious and forever. Alzheimer’s stole the past few years from us but we loved her as much as time would allow and she loved us right back. She is now officially our guardian angel and is free of the burdens that this world holds. We know she is with our sweet Judy, Richard, and several more of our loved ones that have earned their wings. We hope that all who knew her will see her in all of the beautiful things in life. Mom was a beautiful person inside and out. We will be having a celebration for mom sometime in March and we will reach out and let those who would like to attend know the details.

Tributes

Gail Marie Snelling

March 5, 1925 - November 28, 2018