Beloved wife of the late Lawrence. Loving mother of Doug (late Colleen) Smith, late Donnie Smith, Christine (John) Weak, & Eric (Jennapher) Smith. Cherished grandmother of Eric, Shane, Brittany, Samantha, Jessica, & Jacquelyn. Dearest sister of Joan Stahl.
Gale loved her family and her dear pets.
Gale Ann was born on June 6, 1935. The oldest of two daughters of Veva & Orval McKinney. Gale, her sister Joan and their dog named Kimmie, had a happy childhood growing up in a little corner house in a Detroit neighborhood.
When Gale was 17, while attending Cooley High School, she met and started dating a boy named Larry Smith. They were married on September 9, 1955. On April 12, 1958, their first child, Douglas was born. Doug was followed by a second son, Donald, on May 16, 1960. Tragedy struck the small family, when on April 10, 1963 Donnie passed away as the result of a health issue he had since birth. The following January 31, 1964, a daughter, Christine was born. Eric completed the family on May 20, 1970.
Gale was proud to be a stay at home mom, and readily got involved in school & after school activities such as being the room mom in classrooms and being a Boy Scout Leader & Girl Scout Troop Organizer. She spent countless hours getting the kids to Little League Baseball, Football, Hockey, Figure Skating, Youth Choir, Motorcycling and numerous other activities. Always gladly giving of herself and her time.
As the kids got older and didn’t require as much of her time, Gale took some part time jobs. She worked for the Livonia Public Schools as a Cook running the hot lunch program at Tyler Elementary. She used her amazing sewing skills to sew purses/totes for Darrin Bags and Costumes for Greenfield Village. She even sewed Chris’s wedding dress.
Soon she gained the title of Grandma! Her grandkids: Eric, Shane, Brittany, Samantha, Jessica and Jacquelyn were a wonderful chance to be involved again. Hockey games, Swim meets, Gymnastics meets, school programs and scouting all part of the Grandma agenda and she loved it!
Gale and Larry celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their whole family on September 10, 2005. This was a happy and proud time for them both. In June of 2006, Larry began having health issues, and sadly passed away shortly after their 51st anniversary, on October 13, 2006.
A Memorial Gathering will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2020 at 10am until a Memorial Service that will begin at 11am at Harry J. Will Funeral Home, Livonia. Due to Covid restrictions, the gathering and service is limited to 25 people at a time. Masks are required.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are appreciated to the Parkinson's Foundation or Michigan Humane Society.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.HarryjWillLivonia.com for the Smith family.
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