Gail LaVerne Gade

Gail L. Gade (89) died on Monday, July 28, 2014 after a short battle with cancer. Born August 4, 1924 in Shenandoah, IA to Emma Jane (Arnold) and Louis A. Gade. Survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Jeff & Julie and Steve & Nancy, both of Lincoln; grandchildren Cole (Lincoln), Max (Austin, TX) and Paige (Wichita, KS); sister Jacqueline Edwards (Colorado Springs, CO); and nieces and nephews, including Judy Bromley (Council Bluffs). Preceded in death by brother, Eugene Gade and sisters Carlene Bromley, Eunice Gade and LaVonne Gade. Married Dorothy Lorraine Osterman on August 13, 1950. After attending Omaha Tech High School Gail became an Army Sergeant stationed in the Aleutian Islands during WWII. He then enrolled at UNL, where he played Center for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. During this time, due to a slight injury, Gail was not able to join the team on the train to a block of away games. For their next game at UCLA, the team urgently needed him, giving him the opportunity to be the first Cornhusker to ever fly to an away game. Following his college days, Gail joined the Lincoln Police Department. One of his duties was to direct traffic at 13th and O where a beautiful young lady who worked at Magee’s would watch him from the store window…every day. He married that young lady, and thus began the Gade family. As a Lieutenant with LPD, he was the entire Juvenile division for many years. Operating from the firm belief “there is no such thing as a bad kid”, he served as the policeman, the judge, the jury and the social worker, handing down “sentences” such as; 500 word essays of “Why I will never shoplift again”. The family has been rewarded with many stories through the years of people who said “Your dad scared me to death, but he was always kind and helped me stay out of trouble for the rest of my life.” He coached hundreds of kids through midget football and worked with Billy Wolfe Bicycles to repair bicycles for underprivileged kids in Lincoln. In 1969 he joined the University of Nebraska as Chief of Campus Police, where he helped guide the University through the student protests of the Vietnam War. The College Football Hall of Fame / Nebraska Chapter awarded the Lyell Bremser special merit award to Gail in 1988 in recognition of his “sizable contribution to society through public service”. The family would like to thank the staff and friends from Legacy Estates for your part in helping make Gail’s last chapter be so wonderful…and “they have great food” (Gail would always say). A Celebration of Gail’s Life will be Friday August 1, 2014 at 10:00 AM at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home (6800 S. 14th Street). Memorials to honor his memory have been suggested to The Boys and Girls Club of Lincoln/Lancaster County (PO Box 22344, Lincoln, NE 68542) or The Lincoln Midget Football Program (5330 S. 51st Street, Lincoln, NE 68516).