Iris Mae Gale

Iris Mae Gale (Locker) (aka Iris May Gale) passed in her sleep on February 14th, 2017, in Tucson, AZ. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Clifford, and daughter Joan. She is survived by son John and daughters June (Tom) and Jeanne (Fred), six grandchildren (Andrew, Brian, Amy, Jonathan, Jameson and Hollie), and six great-grandchildren (Nivek, Ian, Henry, Taylor, Hayden and Soran).

Iris was born July 1st, 1922 in Akron, OH, to Cleveland Horace Locker and Sara Elizabeth (Ingram). She grew up on farms in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. During WWII she was first a secretary in the Navy Department in Washington, DC, and later joined the US Marine Corps as one of the first Women Marines. While in the Marines she was stationed at Cherry Point, NC, and later MCAS Ewa, HI. She was noted in her hometown paper for being the first person at Ewa to know that the war was over, as she was the one who received the message announcing Japan’s surrender.

Iris met and married Jack (also a Marine) in 1946 in Fort Worth, TX. Although all of their children were born in Fort Worth, the Gales were long-time residents of both Tucson and Phoenix.

During her life, Iris was involved in many crafting activities, including flower arranging, quilting, sewing, gardening and miniatures. She won many ribbons for showing her projects while a member of her neighborhood garden club in Tucson, and the Small World Miniature Club in Phoenix.

In addition to being a housewife and mother, Iris volunteered for many years at Tucson Medical Center and also at Catalina Methodist Church in Tucson. Later she was active in the Women Marines Association and was a seasonal employee in the Maricopa County Elections Department assisting seniors, sick and disabled voters with Absentee Voting.

Iris’ ashes will be placed with her husband at East Lawn Palms Cemetery, Tucson, AZ. A brief graveside memorial including Marine Honor Guard will be held on Tuesday, March 21st, 2017, at 10:30 AM.