Jacqueline Mary Croteau

Jacqueline Mary Croteau, age 80, of Paso Robles, California has left her loved one and friends on May 27, 2025 after battling nearly a decade of complications from COPD, which led to a fight with pneumonia she was unable to recover from. Her struggle and fight, was highlighted by the courage, strength, and positive outlook she exemplified during her lengthy illness. She will always be remembered for her glorious productions in the kitchen during holidays for families and friends, passion for the game of tennis throughout her life until 71 years old, and her lifelong dedication to clothes design, fabrication of garments to perfection, and a creative flair unparalleled by most, often working with very fragile and expensive fabrics where one mistake could cost hundreds of dollars. She was go the go-to person for many when it came to design, fabrication, or alteration of fine garments and fabrics.

Born in Chicago on October 30, 1944, there were many things that made, Jacqueline, uniquely special, which can never be replaced in the family. To name a few, she was a fighter for equality for women and became the first female tee-ball couch in Westlake Village area for her two sons in 1973. She got pushback from the men and women in the little league, but showed them her grit by taking the team, The Foxes, to the championship game. Back then, women weren't supposed to coach boys. In her hobby of tennis, she battled year in and year out, improving her skill level in singles while also playing team tennis religiously throughout the years. Eventually, before the age of 50, Jacqueline had won club tournaments, became the women's club champion one year in Thousand Oaks, CA, along with being an integral teammate on a women's team winning a National Championship event in Palm Springs at her team's rated level. On a different note, her sewing skills and successes should never be overlooked, as they often coincided with her achievements outside the sewing room. Jacqueline, was the role model for strength, to never give up, and to work hard for your dreams. She touched a lot of lives no matter what she was doing and will be missed dearly.

Jacqueline was preceded in death by almost all of her Croteau family from the Southside of Chicago. Only her younger brother, Marcel Croteau, remains from her direct family carrying the Croteau spirit and humor that endeared others to all of them in Chicago. She became widowed at the age of 60 when she lost her husband, Michael Viktor Gailius, in 2005 of cancer, who she had been with him since the age of 14. She is survived by her son, Grant Gailius, of Paso Robles, California; her daughter, Courtney Gailius Bedell, of Atascadero; her brother, Marcel Croteau, of Chicago, Illinois; and two grandchildren, Samantha Bedell and Cole Bedell of Atascadero, California. May our beloved Jacqueline rest in peace for eternity.