Gail Holben:

September 21 ^st , 1939 – January 29 ^th , 2022

Gail Ann Holben was born September 21 ^st , 1939, to her two loving parents, William and Ann Sclater, at DelRay Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Gail was raised in Lincoln Park, Michigan, alongside her sister Jean Sclater, in a quaint bungalow house on White Street. She grew up playing piano and watching her mother cook. She attended Lincoln Park High School, where she was a member of the bowling club and graduated in 1957, She proceeded to attend the Detroit Institute of Business school for two years, allowing her to work at Great Lakes Steel as a secretary for four years. Along the way she married her husband Earl Holben (deceased) on May 7 ^th , 1960, at the age of 20.

Then her life began with Earl. They moved into their first apartment in River Rouge where both sides of their families lived and worked. They eventually purchased a house in Dearborn Heights with cousins just down the street. Together they raised three loving children: Julie (deceased), Laura (Terry Burke), and Earl (Dana Holben).

Gail turned a simple house on Raymond Street into a loving home. They built a pool in the backyard, where all the local neighborhood kids were allowed to roam free, in and out all day and night. Gail would garden, the kids would play. Gail would host poker parties where you had to bet money, knowing you would lose to her. She was the life of the party. Gail would go bowling, where you know she would bowl in the 200's with ease, and you would lose. Gail never drank coffee, just a diet coke with no ice. She loved chocolate and hated avocados. She never liked to be the center of attention, but you could count on her singing if Elvis was on the radio. She hated her picture taken but loved to smile. She fed the dogs human food, while no one was looking. She liked the occasional casino visit with her best friend Jean Mitchell (deceased), the slot machines were an easy win for her. Gail's smile could make your whole day. Gail's love was never given in pieces, it was pure and honest, just like her opinions were… honest. She laughed loud and never complained.

During the Carter administration, when her husband Earl moved to New Orleans for two years to find work, Gail held down the homestead.  She raised their three children by herself for those two years, with ease, because that's just who she was, a mighty independent force. She worked at Wayne County RESA, until retirement, at age 63.

Gail was also a grandmother to her grandchildren Jacob, Hannah, Abigail, JP, and Bonita. She was a grandmother who squeezed your cheeks and held your hand. She never hesitated to ask how you were and always picked up the phone when you called and without fail would say, "Oh, I am so glad you called." She would play piano when you begged her to, even though she always said she was rusty. She would always let her granddaughters borrow jewelry out of her jewelry box. She could make you feel like you were the funniest person in the room by laughing at the silliest of jokes. She loved when her grandchildren sat next to her. You didn't have to entertain her with long stories or be someone you weren't, she was complacent with you just sitting next to her. She was easy-going and straightforward. She was simply wonderful and your confidant when you needed to get something off your chest.

And in the in between she visited family in California, and New Orleans where she said she drank the strongest 'hurricane' in her life. She got to visit her son Earl and family in South Dakota and witness Mount Rushmore. She was able to travel to Louisville this past May to see her granddaughter graduate from college. She loved the color blue and watching "Jeopardy." She enjoyed playing card games and getting her hair done every Friday with her sister Jean, who was a loyal sister and friend. She loved Jesus and the family dogs. She was so easy to love too.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Earl, and her daughter Julie.

In the end she said, "I just lived a normal life," but I think we would all say she lived a noble one.

Although we will miss Gail, we know that God is the author of salvation, He always provides. God was also the author of Gail's life. He wrote her life story; He etched her soul into the palm of His own hand. He knew her the way we all knew her, as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and as a friend. God gave us the gift of Gail, He gave us the gift of her generous heart, her tremendously outspoken mind, and her loving and bright spirit.

Now, we are living in the large wave of Gail's life, the wake that is now crashing into us, and overflowing our soul as if she had never left. Her legacy washes over us like a tidal wave of joy. We can sit here now, washed in her memory, and know that God is good, and Gail was a tremendous gift that each of us are able to thank God for every day. We can live in the reminders she has given us, to smile when we hear a piano play or when we bowl a 200, because that is what she did for us…she has left us in her undying wake that is her bright and bold legacy.

Gail's life may be over on this Earth, but her new life has just begun with Jesus.