Nina "Gail" Morrow

Gail was born on March 6, 1944, to Betty and Gilbert Chaussart in Boulder, Colorado. Gail was the oldest of five girls, and lived up to everything that means - sometimes bossy, sometimes an accomplice, sometimes an opponent, sometimes a moderator, and sometimes the mitigator, but always there when you needed her. In August of 1951, her father and grandfather were tragically killed in an accident when lightning struck dynamite while they were building Gross Reservoir Dam above Boulder. Her mother remarried, which resulted in the addition of two step-brothers and a step-sister to the family, and later a half-brother and half-sister. Growing up, times were tight for Gail, her Mom, and sisters, but the five sisters maintained a strong, but typical sister bond and, to this day, are always there for each other.

Gail met her husband of 59 years on a double date to a roller rink. Gail was dating the brother and Russ the sister, but soon sparks flew between Russ and Gail. They dated for a while and were married in 1962 when Gail was 18 and Russ was 17, finishing out their senior year together. Being married at such a young age met many challenges, one of which was adults and teachers looking down on them and not allowing them to participate in school functions such as choir and prom. But like all challenges Russ and Gail faced in life, they faced it together and persevered stronger. They had three daughters, Tammy, Kerri, and Laura (used only when Gail was mad, otherwise, it was Lori). Gail was a deeply caring and loving mother, her girls always came first. She did not accept the girls getting out of line, and would “count to three” --- she never got to three as all three girls were too afraid of what would happen if she did! But it was not unusual for her to be on the floor playing Barbie dolls, making crafts, or just enjoying favorite TV shows with the girls. As they all grew up, they each developed individual and special relationships with their mom, beyond mother and daughter, Gail was a best friend to each of them.

Russ and Gail worked hard from a very young age. Early in their marriage Gail worked at a Donut shop, and later held other jobs such as ironing for others, putting buckles on ski bands, or volunteering as a Brownie Leader and Sunday school teacher. Most importantly, Gail, who never considered it a job, ran an in home day care for most of her life, retiring only within the last two years. Gail loved babies and toddlers, and in 50+ years, she touched the lives of well over 100 children. Gail was a true “baby whisperer”, and could handle any sort of disciplinary, troubled, or sick baby with ease. She could look at a child and know if something was wrong, mentally or physically, and knew exactly what to do to fix the aliment. She often would say the secret was consistency and love. Babies and toddlers knew what to expect from Gail, as she was stern but compassionate and very loving, and never was there a baby in her care that didn’t get the right amount of discipline mixed with ample hugs, kisses, and cookies. To this day children she watched over still come to visit, showing the respect, love and admiration they have for her.

Gail had many, many interests and could NOT sit still. She loved crafts, reading (she has read hundreds of books), poetry of any kind, shopping, and most recently using her tablet to play games, puzzles, and getting on facebook to connect with friends and family. Gail loved crafting and was very creative, becoming an expert in any craft she took interest. Gail, being competitive, would see a pattern or something someone else had made and go home and make it. Her work was exceptional; she was a true expert and perfectionist. If something wasn’t perfect, she would tear it apart and start over until it was. She sewed, painted, crocheted, embroidered, made stuffed animals and soft sculpted dolls that rivaled any cabbage patch doll, beaded Christmas ornaments and dolls, made cards, colored, etched glass and over the last many years found her true passion in jewelry beading. She has collected enough beads to open her own shop, but she always wanted more. She has made hundreds of bracelets, and if you have one, you are fortunate enough to have a piece of her. She would often say “the beads speak to me”-- we don’t think she was crazy, but maybe? She always said she didn’t smoke, drink or do drugs, but, instead, she used all these other outlets to feed her addiction of keeping her mind and hands busy.

Gail loovvved Christmas. She would completely transform her home every year, setting up five or six trees, one of which was covered with nothing but her handmade beaded ornaments, and decorating every corner of every room, to include the bathroom. It was truly magical, with an unbelievable eye for detail, every bow, Santa, angel, nativity set, and snowman in their own perfect display glistened and sparkled. Her motto for Christmas was you can’t over decorate, and her decorating was Olympic-level perfection. If you were in her home at this time of year, you felt warm, loved, and full of Christmas.

Most importantly, Gail loved her family. She dearly loved her husband -- after so many years of marriage she would tease that she couldn’t live him and couldn’t live without him, but it was obvious they were each a half of a whole. Family was very important to her and she deeply loved her girls, her granddaughters (who lovingly called her Grandy), and her mother, sisters, and brother, as proven by the many personalized gifts, cards, and regular phone calls just to check in.

Gail was super feisty; at only 4’9” she regularly said and lived by the mantra dynamite comes in small packages. She was a force to be reckoned with, and earned and lived by the titled bestowed on her of “De’boss.” We all knew who “ruled the roost” and the saying “if mom ain’t happy, no one’s happy” rang true in our home. She was thoughtful and creative, wore her emotions on her sleeve, and you never had to guess what she was thinking. With one look, you knew if she was over joyed with happiness or you better straighten up. She was very independent, insisting on her own checkbooks, credit cards, and accounts, and instilled that independence in her three girls! She was optimistic, deeply caring, intuitive, imaginative, a wonderful listener, and easy to talk to. She faithfully watched the news, stayed up to date, and had an opinion on current events. She was very dedicated to her family, affectionate, and loving – but also incredibly stubborn and bit ornery, as witnessed by how she loved to banter with her husband and son-in-law. She had intense depth to her character, with many, many layers. She ended every conversation with a statement of affection like “love you too much, to pieces, forever,” or “love you love you love you,” or “love you to the moon and back.” She was deeply, deeply loved, has left an unfillable hole, and will always be missed but remembered with deep love, affection, and adoration.

Gail is survived by her husband Russ, daughters Tammy Morrow, Kerri Savoie (George), and Laura Brady, granddaughters Anna Brady (Andew), and Emily, mother Betty Gotchell, sisters Betty Jo Boro, Linda Noreen (Dan), Patty Chaussart, Nancy Stalling (Terry), June Falzone, and brother Robert Gotchell (Kim), and multiple nieces, nephews. Gail is preceded in death by her father Gilbert Chassaurt, step-father Homer Gotchell, , sister-in-law Barbara Morrow, brother-in-law Larry Morrow, and son-in-law Jim Brady.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhighland.com for the Morrow family.