Gail Yvonne Goelz

Born as Gail Yvonne Hornbeck at Carson City Hospital on May 19th, 1936, from her very first years, she carried a gentle, radiant capacity to love, and she spent her entire life giving that love away without limit. It was her calling. It was her art. It was her identity. And it was her greatest legacy.

Gail was the eldest daughter of William Macadene Hornbeck and Flossie Irene Hornbeck (née Parrish). Her family roots have run deep in the Carson City region, and those family bonds shaped her for the rest of her life. Gail was born the oldest of two girls. Gail’s loving sister Lois Lewis of Traverse City, Michigan survives her.

She graduated from Lansing Eastern High School in 1954, and from that point forward Lansing became her lifelong home.

Married twice in her lifetime, Gail first wed the late Wilson Frederick Higgins on October 23rd, 1954. Later, post divortium, she married the late Gordon Goelz on November 5, 1985.

When first married, she moved to North Lansing in 1954 and lived at 500 Greenwood Boulevard until the early 1980s. Later, Gail moved to her longtime home on Haag Road, where she resided from 1984 until her passing.

Gail had two children with Wilson: the late Wilson “Fred” Higgins Jr., and a surviving daughter, Nena Skaggs (née Higgins). Nena (with her husband Rick Skaggs), became Gail’s closest companions, her constant support, and her daily friend. Their bond was one of the deepest, purest, most enduring loves of Gail’s entire life.

Gail also had two surviving brothers she deeply loved and cared for throughout earlier years of their lives as though they were her own: LeRoy Dale Welch (and his wife Joyce), currently of Republic, Missouri, and, B. Paul Welch (and his wife Diane) now of Vista, California.

Family for Gail did not stop at a blood boundary. Gail became family to her stepchildren and step-grandchildren as well. From her second marriage came wonderful relationships with two step-sons, the late Wayne Higgins, and, the late Gary Higgins, and Gail is also survived by stepdaughter Nancy Behrens (and her spouse Stan). Through her marriage to Gordon Goelz, Gail gained additional stepchildren who loved her: Greg Goelz (spouse Sue), Mark Goelz (spouse Holly), Robin Mulder (spouse Phil), and Kathy Dexter (spouse Scott).

Across both marriages, nieces and nephews became numerous beyond easy count. They were every bit a living, loving part of her daily world. She tried to keep track of every new little one who entered the family tree as best she could — and she loved each one as though they were her own children.

Grandchildren were Gail’s joy. She was preceded in death by two grandsons, Cameron Higgins and Brent Behrens, and, a great-great granddaughter, Julianna Breckon. She is survived by six additional grandchildren, twenty-three great grandchildren, twelve great-great grandchildren- each of them the crown and sparkle of Gail’s later life. It is no exaggeration to say they were her heart’s celebration.

For 42 years, Gail worked in the insurance field, where she became known for her kindness, patience, loyalty, and genuine caring for the people she served. She left behind hundreds who remembered her as the steady, dependable voice and the warm soul on the other end of the phone.

Gail also had a special tenderness for animals — one of the deepest threads of her identity. She always had multiple cats and dogs, and any animals in distress always seemed to find her. She healed, fed, sheltered, and loved them. She practiced this as though it was a sacred natural obligation. And she never once turned away a creature who needed her. Gail was a veritable rescuing reeve of all animalkind.

She lived with extraordinary inner strength. Gail was gentle, romantic, feminine, unwaveringly loyal, and unafraid to love first. She was a quiet force — the kind of person who gives and gives, not because she should, but because she simply couldn’t do anything else.

We will miss her presence. We will miss her voice. We will miss the comfort she brought into every room and every difficult moment. Her absence creates a vast and irreplaceable space in our family and in the lives of all who loved her, including her beloved furry companions.

Gail will not be remembered with monuments or carved stone or academic awards. Instead, she will be remembered for something more rare and more needed in this world — a life fully lived in love, loyalty, devotion, and care. She was a devoted mother, a doting grandmother, a close and personal great grandmother, an indelible friend, and a rescuer of all living creatures who crossed her path. She lived every one of her allotted 32,676 days as a quiet hero of human goodness. We will hold that forever.

Services:

Services in memoriam of Gail Goelz will be held at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home, 900 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing Michigan 48912. 517-482-1533.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 13th, 2025 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm followed by a funeral service the next day on Friday, November 14th, 2025 at 11:00 am.

A funeral cortege will proceed to the graveside internment service, which is scheduled immediately after the memorial funeral service, enroute to Deepdale Memorial Gardens, 4108 Old Lansing Road, Lansing, Michigan 48917, to be held near the mausoleum.

Donations:

If one wishes to donate to Gail’s favorite charities, in lieu of flowers for the funeral proceedings, please donate in Gail’s name to:

Capital Area Humane Society of Lansing

7095 West Grand River, Lansing, Michigan 48906

517-626-6060

Or alternatively:

Ingham County Animal Shelter.

600 Buhl Street, Mason, Michigan 48854

517-676-8370