Tommie Jean Gayle

Gayle was born on July 7, 1930 in Cordova and spent the first few years of her life there before her mother unexpectedly passed away when she was 5. She would eventually relocate to Birmingham, where she graduated from Phillips High School and had a job as a switchboard operator, a job she would later have to step down from after marrying George Gayle in 1951.

George was working with Tom Huston Peanut Company during those years, traveling throughout the country opening new accounts, leading to frequent moves for the couple and their two young children, George and Wendy. In 1958, he purchased his own Tom’s distributorship in Montgomery in 1958 and the family relocated to the capital city.

George expanded Montgomery Sales Company to one of the River Region’s most successful snack food companies, reaching seven counties in central Alabama, but he never could have done it without the help of Tommie Jeane. While he was responsible for ordering supplies, purchasing vending machines and paying bills, she was often in charge of the employees, getting her children off to school in the morning before rushing over to the business to get the employees off to their routes.

After George stepped down from the daily rigors of running the business in the early 1990s, he became interested in heritage groups and genealogy as he traced the lives of his father and grandfather. Quite naturally, Tommie Jeane followed her husband in that pursuit as well, joining the United Daughters of the Confederacy in August, 1996 and soon after the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She was an ardent supporter of the UDC’s Cradle of the Confederacy chapter, serving several terms as the chapter registrar and as chairman of the Children of the Confederacy. Later, she would use that experience to help rejuvenate the Children of the Confederacy’s local chapter in the mid 2000s after several years of inactivity.

She served in a similar capacity in the DAR’s Peter Forney chapter, particularly in the National Service for Veterans Committee. Tommie Jeane was a very active supporter of our nation’s veterans, dedicated to providing services to the patients in the local Veteran’s Hospital.

And just as she had always supported George in his business, she was by his side during his 21-year leadership as the camp commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ Camp 692 (Cradle of the Confederacy), attending every meeting and helping organize activities in her own special way.

When George passed away in 2016, she became less active in the business as well as her organizations and when COVID hit, she stopped attending all meetings.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Clement and Ruth Barton Martin, her husband of 65 years, George, and her eldest son, George Jr. Survivors include sons John and Tim, daughter Wendy Cale, 11 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Pallbearers included Joseph Martin, Gerald Martin, Jeremy Ziegler, John Gayle Jr., Andrew Gayle and Ryan Gayle.

Visitation will be held at Leak-Memory Chapel on Saturday from 10-11 a.m. Services will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Leak-Memory Chapel with Rev. Betty J. Maurer officiating. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Leak-MC.com for the Gayle family.