Gail Lonie Smith

November 16, 1960 - August 12, 2007

(a tribute by: Michael)

"Once in a Great While, Someone Special Comes Along"

Gail Lonie Smith was born on a windy (hence, Gail) November night to Dixie and Darold Smith in Long Beach Ca.   She was a very bright and athletic child...she could have been a pro-athlete or at least a great high school or college track star (later in life, she once ran the mile in 5:30....she was three months preg.), but she never had the chance...She grew up in California in her early years, but being a daughter of young parents, Gail and her Sister, Pam, would move from town to town as their father pursued a career in the Coast Guard.  (Gail, abandoned and abused as a child, never realized, until years later, the damage that had been done).  She would eventually find home in Seattle Washington where she was on her own by age 15, after receiving her GED (at 16 years of age), she worked nights as a waitress and attended business college in the day.  She would graduate first in her class (4.0)as a Para-Legal.  After living a restless teen life, she would make her way to St. Louis Mo. via a short stay in Arizona and at the very young age of 20, she managed a high-profile law firm in Clayton Mo. (a wealthy metro area of St. Louis).   It was in Clayton where she would meet her future husband, Michael.  Six weeks after meeting one another, the couple married and moved to Clearwater Florida where they Loved, Lived, and Laught (and sometimes fought) together for the next ten years. Along the way, Gail would give birth to their three beautiful daughters, Ashley (1983) Meghan (1987), and Mary (1991)....Michael built a sucessful carreer in TV Advertising and Sports Media while Gail sucessfully help build a Large PI Law Firm while also serving as State Secretary for MADD...Early on, she and Michael served in their Church as a pre-school directors...Three Kids and two booming careers brought much joy, success, and recognition for the couple, but also a lot of stress and problems in the marraige.  In 1993, Gail and Michael divorced, and tho they will love each other forever, it became clear that they needed to part company for the sake of the kid's...Gail, in an attempt to bury the pain of having a 'rocky' (or no) childhood, and a unclear path as an adult, had become a victim of "poor counseling"and she would eventually become a 'Functional Alcoholic', depending on the 'drug' to help her cope with her pain...it was a painful time for the entire family...Michael and the girls relocated to Indiana in 1997 to be closer to family...But, Gail, being a true beach lover, would stay and work in Clearwater for the next 10 years...her work, and life, would touch the lives of many people, mostly satisfied personal injury clients...She loved the water and open seas, the beach, and her great collection of native amercian art... she also loved her two cats, Katy, and Trina, that she rescued from Hurricane Katrina...But, above all, she loved her girls, enough to let them go and rebuild a new life from afar...On August 12, 2007, Gail's self-medicating efforts to kill her pain ended, and she left the pain and confusion of this world to be with our Lord, Jesus Christ....she waited to late to try and reverse the damage done.  Gail lived a restless, unpredictable life, but her bright smile, quick wit, and great sense of humor will be forever remembered by all those that knew and loved her.   She was beautiful (winning many beauty/fitness contest), bright, and full of life, but Alcoholism is a disease that is no respector of persons....She tried to reverse the process, but it was too as her liver and kidneys had failed.  Michael, never remarrying (always loving Gail), and the girls, still live in Evansville Indiana!  Tho 900 miles apart, the girls always kept in close touch with their mom and oftened enjoyed time with her on the water in Florida.  Gail has left this world, but goes on to embrace a Peace and Glory that surpasses all human understanding.  She has a new liver, an entire new heavenly body, and I'm quite sure she is smiling, and entertaining someone with her great sense of humor, or perhaps she's just running along those heavenly beaches...We'll all miss her quick wit and beautiful smile...but they will live on through Ashley, Meghan, and Mary; Her legacy, they are the true success story of Gail and Michael's marriage (a marraige that people said wouldn't last six months: a marraige the couple had to fight for from the beginning): Ashley embraces her mom's toughness, beautiful smile, and no-nonsense attitude (she is a great mom of two daughters and great wife to a wonderful young man); Meghan got her mom's compassion, people skills, and her outgoing emotions( her bond with her mom will never be broken): Mary, looks just like her mom, she got her multi-tasking ability, oragnizational skills, athleticism and internal fortitude.  They all three, fortunately, got her beautiful good looks, great personality, sense of humor, and smarts. Whereas, Alcohol was a big part of Gail's self-medicating and self-distruction, she somehow manage to succesfully work and be productive....she leaves behind many friends she made over the years in Florida...she also leaves behind a Mother that she barely ever knew, a sister, that she spent far too little time with, and a father, who like any parent that loses a child knows, must now carry his own extra cross ....she also leaves me, Michael, with some what ifs' to ponder, but more than anything, with many wonderful memories of our time together in Florida when we were but young newlyweds..the wind blew gently through our hair, the sand smashed between our toes, the Florida sun set peacefully across the beautiful gulf waters, and we held hands and walked and talked for hours about our future....we had so many dreams, hopes, and promises, and I can honestly say, most of them came true, but we made a mistake, a mistake many people make: We stopped dreaming, we let go of our future and instead dealt only with the past and present: I have also learned from this experience that Gail wasn't able to overcome her problems because she was unable to forgive herself until too late.  We must all learn to keep dreaming, asking, believing, and receiving....and to keep loving, she taught me that.  So, today, I feel so very, very blessed that she came into my life, cause it's only 'Once in a Great While, that Someone Special Comes Along" ...I wished I could have loved her more (if possible), I wish I could have been there to protect her when she was a child (I wished she could have had a sports mentor to help develop her God given speed and athletic ablitiy), I wish I would have been stronger for her in her real time of need, I wish I could have taken the pain for her that she fought so long to hide, I wish I could have died for her...but I couldn't, I was busy doing what she wanted me to do, what she had ask me to do years earlier, "making sure that our daughters were protected and receiving TLC everyday of their lives"...that was her wish:  I hope I have done a good job!  Gail once asked me "Michael, why do you love me so much?" My reply was, simple, but all so true, "Because, there's so, so much about you to love"and so it was....now, walk gently across those heavenly beaches 'Gaily', and save me a great spot, I'll see you soon!

           (One in every five families are now affected by the distruction of Alcoholism)AA,

Diva La Sports, and all that it becomes, is dedicated to Gail!

609 Oak Ave./ Newlyweds First Florida Home 1982

Bayside/One Block from the House

 

Look Alikes

Gail's Favorite Beach Spot

R.I.P. GLS