Gail L. Peters

Gail L. Peters, age 74, of Dallas, Texas, passed away suddenly Wednesday, February 16, 2022. Gail was born in San Francisco, California, on October 23, 1947, to Charlie W. Thompson and Barbara L. (Jenson) Page. Gail was the second oldest of five children and is preceded in death by her parents, her older brother, Denny, her younger brother, David, and sister Colleen and survived by her youngest brother, Darrel Thompson. As a child Gail loved being near the ocean, going to the beach with her family and sharing adventures with her siblings and the neighborhood children. In 1963 Gail’s family moved from Southern California to Richardson, Texas. Gail graduated from Richardson High School in 1965.

Gail had three children from her first marriage, Jennifer Charpentier, Debbie Wooding and Sherrie Gedney. Gail was married to the love of her life, Nicholas Peters for 27 years. She was the proud grandmother (Ahma) of ten: Jacob, Jared, Amanda, Travis, Jesse, Jordan, Samuel, Audrey, Annie, and Grant. Gail most recently became a great-grandmother to beauties Norah and Hazel. She was also completely devoted to her beloved nieces and nephews, Kyle, Kristin, Heather, Chris, John, Colleen, Christina, and Michael. Gail loved taking care of her beautiful 102-year old mother-in-law, India. She also loved being a momma to her frisky cats, Percy and Lucky.

Gail retired several years ago from Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas where she worked as the clinical administrator for the Psychiatry Department, facilitating the administrative needs of a prestigious psychiatric department and keeping the doctors and clinicians in order, which perfectly suited her genius-level organization skills, but also gave her generous soul the opportunity to connect with the patients in a meaningful way. She tirelessly shared warmth and compassion with each person she encountered, whether patient or staff.

Her gentle compassion made an interesting counter-point to her athletic, competitive nature. In her 20’s and 30’s Gail was a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court, winning trophies, gaining her share of scrapes and making life-long friendships. Gail was an avid cyclist and spent hours each week cycling around White Rock Lake. A mutual love of cycling brought Gail and Nic together and the two of them could be seen riding around the lake on their sleek, red tandem bike. At the age of 44, Gail decided to take up rollerblading, after one of her daughters handed her a pair of used skates. From then on, she was hooked; wheeling around the paths at White Rock Lake up until the very week she passed away. In addition, Gail was an avid walker, making daily treks through her neighborhood where she made fast friendship with fellow walkers. She would stop to charm neighborhood babies, share stories of her family, and listen to the cares, concerns, joys and triumphs of her neighborhood friends.

Such an adventurous spirit as Gail’s could not be contained. She loved to travel, whether it was taking family road trips around the Southwest with her children, nieces and nephews or whisking away to more exotic destinations like Hawaii and Bermuda, with her loving husband, Nic. She was equally at home in their cabin in the Colorado mountains, or walking the wild beaches of Matagorda, Texas, but always felt most at peace near the ocean. Most recently, she and Nic sailed off on a Mediterranean cruise, where she was able to walk around the Acropolis and through the Vatican.

Gail’s family would like to thank all who have reached out with messages of sympathy and to share their memories and experiences in knowing Gail. It has been overwhelming to realize the impact her innate generosity had on so many people. She was a person who served selflessly and brought life and love into every encounter. Gail exhibited generosity and service in practical ways, giving weekly donations of non-perishable foods to her neighborhood food bank. She was also a long-time supporter of Native American children at St. Labre Indian School located in Ashland, Montana. As a way of honoring her memory and the charities she believed in, please consider making a contribution in her name to St. Labre ([email protected]) and supporting your local food bank with donations or volunteering your time.

Her legacy is larger than life and is not contained merely within her family tree. Her legacy branches out into the lives of all who knew her. She gave unconditional love and support to all she encountered. It would be a tremendous way to further her legacy by continuing this practice in our own lives. Be present with each other. Listen with your heart. Give generously without the need to receive, but most of all, share love freely without condition.

This is how Gail lived her life:

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 and 13

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never ends….13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”