Gabrielle Amelia Duncan

Our beloved, beautiful and feisty 92 year old mother, Gabrielle Amelia Duncan, died in the early morning hours of Friday, October 20th from complications associated with the Stage IV breast cancer that had invaded her body.

Although she was not afraid to die, she was disappointed that she would miss out on Thanksgiving and Christmas and that she would not reach her 100th birthday surrounded by the family that she loved.

The end was hard because her husband and children who loved her best were not ready for her departure.

Gabrielle was given the gift of life on September 10th, 1925 in Fussen, Bavaria, Germany. She was the only child of her very loving parents, Rudolf Bayer and Rosa Birchtold (Bayer) (both deceased).

Although she spent the very early years of her life in Germany, she immigrated to the US with her parents in the late 1920’s and became a fervently patriotic American.

Her closet is full of shirts, caps and jewelry all emblazoned with the American flag that she loved and the wear on those items is evidence of the strong sense of patriotism that she felt and displayed with pride.

She had a strong belief in God and was blessed to have had the opportunity to visit the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico.

She was truly the best part of the “greatest generation.” She worked hard to support the family that she loved and expected that nothing would be given to her that she had not earned through effort and hard work.

With her husband of over 70 years, she was determined to instill those values in the children that she adored.

She was a strong disciplinarian who felt that the kitchen wooden spoon was the perfect disciplinary device while chasing us around the dining room table for some infraction.

Although I do not remember meeting the business end of the spoon, I do recall the fancy footwork that ensued while she headed one way around the table and I headed the other.

As I watched the determination in her face, I also recall thinking that I was grateful that the dining room table was as large as it was….while reminiscing with my siblings, the feeling appears to have been mutual.

How do you fit 92 years of a full and well loved life into a few short paragraphs? There is no way that I can give that the justice it deserves.

I can tell you how lucky she was to have met a returning WW II veteran while she was a roller skating patron and he was a guard at the Queens Roller Rink in New York. His invitation to dance at that rink and the ensuing engagement and marriage have lasted over 70 years….a feat not soon duplicated these days.

Although they started their life together in New York and have many fond memories of that state and city, Danbury, Connecticut has been their home and where they raised their family since 1969.

Gabrielle loved to cook and was a kitchen gadgeteer. I would be surprised if there was a cookbook, spice or kitchen gadget that did not find its way into her Danbury kitchen. Her love of cooking included the determination to make every single recipe in the cheese cake cookbook….an accomplishment for which I still have 20 extra pounds…although tastily derived.

In addition to her strong love of family, faith and cooking, Gabrielle also instilled in her family a love of animals. The dogs, cats and birds that have found their way into our hearts over the years, were assured a loving home for life.

Her consolation for passing earlier than she had hoped was that she would be reunited with family, friends and the many pets she had come to love over her lifetime and who had predeceased her.

She made a career of loving animals and keeping them well groomed. Her small, home based grooming business lasted over 30 years and she volunteered to bathe and primp more than a few rescue animals to ensure that they looked their best when searching for a new family to love.

When she wasn’t working, she and her husband William were traveling around the country in their RV visiting many far flung events, friends and acquaintances. Their many travels took them as far as Alaska.

Whether traveling around the country or more recently sitting in her living room reminiscing to the 1940’s sounds of Glen Miller and Harry James, she will be dearly missed by her constant traveling companion, her husband, William James.

In addition to her husband, Gabrielle is survived and will be lovingly remembered by her daughter Lynn Margaret of Bullock, North Carolina; her daughter Donna Marie of Brookfield; her daughter Mary Rose Heise of Hamilton, Virginia; and her son William James and his wife Corrie Sue of New Milford. She is also blessed to be survived by her beautiful granddaughter Alexa Nicole. She is also survived by her only niece Carole Letus-Dumin of California.

We especially want to thank the Nursing staff, the Respiratory Therapists, the Massage Therapist, Dr. Ziganshina and all other personnel involved in the very kind treatment of our mother during her brief stay at Danbury Hospital.

Visitation will be at the Green Funeral Home at 57 Main Street, Danbury, Connecticut 06810 on Tuesday, October 24th from 5 p.m.to 7 p.m. Burial will be at the State Veterans Cemetery, 317 Bow Lane, Middletown, CT 06457 on Wednesday, October 25th at 11:30 a.m.

Donations may be made in Gabrielle’s memory to the Danbury Animal Welfare (DAWS) or to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.