Constance Naomi Gall

Constance (Connie) Naomi Gall of Seattle passed away peacefully at the age of 96 on February 23, 2016, with her son Fred at her side. She is survived by her 3 sons Fred, Dick (Joanna), Jeff (Sally), 5 grandchildren including Maryl (Sean), John (Megan), Kate (David) Stephanie, Brian (Alethea), 6 great-grandchildren, and 2 nieces.

Connie was born on May 25th, 1919, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle and was the daughter of John A. Rockas and Marie A. Ferran, and the loving sister of Tom, John, and Paul Rockas who all preceded her in passing. Tragically, her brother Paul died at the young age of 23, when his B-25 plane crashed during WWII.

At the beginning of WWII, Connie was introduced to her future husband, Fred Lionel Gall by mutual friends from Queen Anne Hill, and they were married in 1942. They remained together until his death in 1979, following a lengthy bout with Parkinson's disease.

With the unexpected passing of her mother from diabetes in 1935 during the height of the Depression, Connie was thrust into the role of adulthood at the young age of 16.

She went to work at Frederick & Nelson in downtown Seattle as a clerk, and also became a surrogate mother to her 3 brothers, not knowing at the time that this would provide valuable experience in raising her 3 sons to whom she gave birth between the years of 1944-1951.

Connie attended Ballard High School and graduated in 1937. When the attack on Pearl Harbor triggered the entrance of the United States into WWII, another chapter in Connie's life unfolded. As with many Americans that lived during this era, the historical link connecting the Depression with WWII were fundamental in forming Connie's core values.

Enduring the many challenges and hardships held in common with friends and family during these extraordinary times, she forged many close ties and deep-rooted friendships- bonds that would span her lifetime - and Connie truly treasured these relationships.

Shortly after WWII ended in 1945, Connie and her husband Fred, along with their firstborn, Fred, to whom she gave birth in 1943, settled into their new home in the Ravenna district of Seattle. During the next few years Connie also gave birth to sons Dick in 1946 and Jeff in 1951.

Like many families during the 1950s, the Gall family of five was living the American dream during an optimistic era where the Depression of the 1930s was behind us, the country as a whole was still riding the wave of the victorious end to WWII, and the economy was thriving. Connie took over the day job of raising the 3 boys, while husband Fred owned and ran the local IGA grocery store with Connie's brother, Tom Rockas.

Sports, school activities, family vacations, weekend fishing trips, nightly dinners around the table, neighborhood gatherings, playing outside until dark without fear, birthday and holiday celebrations, Christmases with tinsel and bubble lights on the tree - just a small sample of life in the 1950s - and Connie was at center stage in helping create these lasting memories.

And while life was a continuous party for the 3 boys, in retrospect, they were a handful, as they became mischief experts and were constantly trying to figure out ways to stretch the envelope.

In order to get their attention, Connie would often resort to one of her favorite refrains, which was just wait until your dad gets home. This was largely an effective tactic, since none of the boys were remotely interested in facing the enforcer.

Once the boys reached adulthood, Connie frequently harkened back to the time when they were younger and she would ask in wonderment, how I ever survived raising you 3 boys is beyond me and the standard reply from each son was to claim he was the angel and it was the other 2 who were the troublemakers.

From 1960 - 1984, Connie was employed at the U of W where she worked in the offices of the President, Vice-Provost, and the School of Social Work and was also an avid Husky sports fan. Connie's interaction with co-workers during her tenure broadened her circle of friends, leading to many personal relationships that would withstand the test of time, an ongoing theme in her life.

Throughout adulthood, Connie enjoyed a very active social life. In retirement, being a lifelong fan of the arts, she regularly attended the Seattle Symphony, as well as ballets and plays at the Seattle Opera House.

Connie also traveled to attend many family weddings, including those of her son Jeff and wife Sally in Carmel, CA in 1999, her granddaughter Maryl and husband Sean in San Francisco in 2001, her grandson Brian & wife Alethea on Coronado Island (San Diego) in 2004, her grandson John and wife Megan at Stanford, CA in 2006, and granddaughter Kate and husband David in Leavenworth, WA in 2009.

In addition, she visited the Island of Rhodes in Greece in 1983 to attend her goddaughter's wedding, and revisited Greece in 1988 to be present at their 5-year anniversary. Her goddaughter, Debbie Schwartz, remembers Connie to this day as being the life of the party with the greatest sense of humor.

Connie also joined her son Dick and wife Joanna on a memorable trip to Hong Kong and Singapore and traveled multiple times to the Washington DC area to visit friends with whom she remained close to from the days of her youth.

She drove solo to and from Seattle to Lake Chelan numerous times during the summer months and continued to do so, even after she was well into her eighties. Her son Fred co-owned the popular water park Slidewaters for 25 years, and Connie spent time with him and grandchildren Stephanie and Kate, who also held summer jobs at Slidewaters as they were growing up.

And she made regular visits to Northern California to spend time with her sons Dick and Jeff, their wives and grandchildren, and later on, great-grandchildren.

Upon suffering a stroke in December of 2010, Connie was relocated from her home in the north end of Seattle, where she lived for 43 years, to Serenity Park in Kenmore, a full time residency care home for adults.

While her ability to speak was impaired following the stroke, she was nonetheless able to sing along with familiar songs going all the way back to the 1940s and more importantly, retained her overall awareness.

Connie was a joy to be around during the final years of her life as the sparkle in her eyes, infectious laughter, and indomitable spirit were an inspiration to the lives of both the staff and residents at Serenity Park, where she assumed the role of elder stateswoman.

While it was challenging for Connie's 2 sons in California to visit more than a handful of times each year, her son Fred, who lives in Kirkland, made it a part of his daily regimen to spend time with her and his regular visitations became the highlight of her day.

Our family offers a heartfelt thanks to the Serenity Park caregivers, where Connie lived her final years in dignity, amongst a most dedicated and caring staff.