Birth date: Feb 2, 1960 Death date: May 22, 2021
Gail Elaine King Stock passed away peacefully in her sleep late in the night of May 21, 2021, with her partner Gordon Serou at her side. Gail’s passing was unanticipated and her family and friends are bereaved, with all wishing th Read Obituary
My first love at age 13. We had so much fun hanging out at Aurora County Club in Algiers. This news is a stunner and bummer. So sorry to hear. RIP my old friend.
Happy Birthday ! We all miss you so much.!
Gail was my aunt and one of my very best friends. I talked to her on the phone almost every day, and I feel such a void in my life, not being able to talk with her anymore and rely on her for guidance and a good laugh. She was always there for good times and bad, always there to impart wisdom, always there to make me laugh and to teach me important and useful things about life.
While Gail was amazingly easy to get along with and a friend to many, she also held very strong principles and values about how people should treat one another and how people should treat animals. When I was a little girl, I idolized Gail – her cool nature, her sense of humor, her beauty, her fashion sense, her depth, her kindness, and her fierce loyalty to her friends. When I was young, I remember being upset because people were prejudiced toward my father because he was gay. Gail was the first person besides my mother to pull me aside and tell me she loved gay people, had several gay friends, and that people who were prejudiced against gay people were misguided. This was in the early 1980’s when prejudice and fear were rampant. It meant the world to me.
After college, I went to live with Gail for the summer to help teach my precious cousins learn to read and be a nanny. We had so many fun times during those months, and that was the beginning of a long and very close friendship. I still idolized Gail, so when I moved to New Orleans, I adopted my cat, Gumbo (“Bo”), from the Louisiana SPCA in 1997 at the age of 21, copying Gail, who had also adopted her first cat of her adult life at the Louisiana SPCA on Japonica Street at the age of 21. I wanted to be just like her. Gail treasured animals, as I do, and believed they should be treated like royalty. Her many pets received such treatment!
Gail was a very sentimental person, always sharing mementos with me and others to help us remember her loving friendship. She was also incredibly generous, always giving me beautiful clothes. She made sure that I knew that I always had a place in her home no matter what the circumstance. Once, when I was going through a difficult time in my adult life and many people were not as supportive, Gail’s response was to send me a diamond bracelet, several of her favorite CDs, and a portable Walkman to listen to them on, all to cheer me up and show her undying support. It really helped, just knowing that she would do all of that and that her love was endless.
My heart is deep with sorrow at the passing of my very close aunt and friend, but I know she would want me to remember the happy times and cherish all of the mementos she has given me to keep forever as a memory of our wonderful and loving friendship. I love you, Gail. I still believe in guardian angels, and hope you will guard all of your beloved friends and family who miss you so deeply. I know if you could, you would wipe away all our tears.
Love your niece, Maile Ray
