Sara Gail (Hartzell) Hudspeth was born May 6, 1940 to Orpha (Grubbs) Hartzell and Leonard Hartzell in Middletown, Ohio. Along with her older brother Gary, the family moved to sunny California after the war.
Gail, a happy, adventurous child, gave her parents a lot of reasons to keep a watchful eye out as they moved around various parts of southern California. She was active in Job’s Daughters, synchronized swimming and the school’s business club. As a teenager, once she met Warren Hudspeth, she was smitten. Gail and Warren married on April 25, 1959 and had 66 loving years and many adventures together.
Gail and Warren had 4 children; Patricia Callaghan (Joe), Steven (Denise), James (Sheri) and Robert (Katie). When the children were very small, the family moved from sunny California to the wilds of southern Oregon to raise their rambunctious family of 3 sons and one daughter. They built their house gradually as money and time allowed, and raised farm animals as well as children. Gail was especially fond of her milk cows and turned from a city girl into quite the homesteader. Her flower gardens at each subsequent home made them especially welcoming to her growing family and friends.
Gail was an active young parent, supporting her children’s sports teams, 4-H clubs and other random shenanigans. No one was a more involved parent than Gail, and she was a fierce mama bear when any of her kids were being given a hard time. She often drove for hours to shuttle baseball teams and Job’s Daughters to games and functions all around the area.
After most of the chicks fled the nest, Gail began her “second” career as a Mary Kay consultant. She loved helping people look and feel their very best, and she made a whole new crew of friends and cohorts to work and play with over those 25 years of beautifying her community. She rarely met a stranger, and loved anything that caught the light and sparkled. As her children grew and married, she warmly welcomed new spouses into the family and awaited grandbabies. Gail and Warren’s family grew to include 5 grandchildren and the next generation includes 10 Great-Grand Children.
Some of her favorite grandbaby memories included camping at Gold Lake, playing double croquet in the back yard (watch out for the flowerbeds!), and listening to ongoing stories about their young lives. She taught them crazy songs from her childhood that definitely brought out the giggling (a sound she could never hear enough). Grama Gail and Great Grama Gail had a lot of stories to share and loved to bake their favorite treats when they visited. She especially loved sharing her numerous and sparkly Christmas decorations, and loved preparing for holiday feasts with a table full of family. If you were lucky enough to be at Grama’s for your birthday, there was a great celebratory meal to look forward to that included all of your favorites.
Sadly, Gail was plagued with ill health in her last few years, and she lost her battle against strokes the day before her 85th birthday. She never lost her zest for life and her love for her family was always evident to anyone who spent time with her. She loved their retirement home on the river near the Nestucca River and was always amazed when new flowers and plants did so well under her green thumb. One of her prized plants actually moved from place to place with Gail and Warren; a cutting from an anniversary rose bouquet that she rooted and planted early in her marriage was still thriving at their last home on the river as they moved for the final time.
