Gail Eleanor Coghlan

Gail Eleanor Coghlan

June 26, 1954 – August 25, 2023

Gail passed away peacefully at her home with family by her side after a two-year journey with cancer.

She will be greatly missed by her brother Rob [Sandi], nieces Jill [Niall], Natalie, Cailey and nephew Jeffrey [Jordan], great-nieces and nephew Rowan, Maeve, Cael, Ailie and Sinead, brother-in-law George, as well as Pearl and Kim McGonigal, along with many lifelong friends from Wildwood Park and around the world. Gail was predeceased by her parents, Norman and Eleanor Coghlan, and her sister, Barbara Coghlan.

Gail always showed us the way. No adventure was too great, no far-off place was too far away, and anything was possible. Learning about people, places, history, and science was her calling - along with refereeing and calming down her dad and brother with a level head and wise counsel during debates on current events at family Sunday dinners.

Gail cherished camping and other family trips from one end of North America to the other, time at her grandma's house in Killarney, Manitoba, and many summers on Lake of the Woods. It was those long childhood road trips that gave Gail her need to see what else the world had to offer and experience.

At a young age, Gail travelled the world for five years with a backpack on her back, along with her friend Donna Arbuckle. Living in London, she worked at Harrods Department Store. Then, it was off to Israel to work on a Lebanese border Kibbutz while bombs passed overhead. Then off to New Zealand to sheer sheep, to Australia to live in the outback, and finally a stay on the beaches of Papua New Guinea, with many other places and adventures in between.

Gail returned to Winnipeg to study and received her Bachelor of Science Degree at the University of Manitoba. We were all so proud of "the brains of the family", as Dad always said. Gail spent her career working with Dr. Marion Lewis at the RH Lab at the University of Manitoba, studying and researching RH science that would help families around the world live a better life. When she wasn't working, she cherished time spent with her nieces and nephew, especially babysitting on weekends when their parents were away. In recent years, she delighted in playing with her great-nieces and nephew.

Our family would like to thank Dr. Brian Sharkey for the exceptional and heartfelt care he gave Gail through the years. We would also like to thank the Palliative Care nurses and doctors. Finally, a special thanks to Geraldine Head for her support. This team helped Gail stay at home through this difficult time.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, October 5 at 10:00 AM at Thomson "In the Park" Funeral Home, 1291 McGillivray Blvd.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Gail's memory to the Winnipeg Foundation (Norman and Eleanor Coghlan Memorial Fund).