Gayle Rose was born January 8, 1961 in San Bernadino, CA to Dean and Bonita Wiebe. The next year the young family moved to Bellingham, WA, eventually settling at Franklin Street close to Bellingham High School. Sister Pam was born in 1962 and sister Debbie in 1965. Gayle received Christ as her Lord at age 5. Young Gayle had a burning concern for her friends and was privileged to lead most of them to Jesus. Gayle and her family were active members of Bellingham Free Methodist Church. When she was a sophomore in high school, her parents took over the leadership of the church youth group. Their home was a hub of activity. There were prayer breakfasts, bible studies, passionate discussions, and of course toilet papering of friends’ yards.
The summer before her senior year, Gayle went with Teen Missions International to help build a church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. God’s activity leading up to and during that mission trip left a deep and lasting impression on Gayle. In 1979 she graduated from high school and spent a year at Seattle Pacific University with the goal of becoming a nurse. She left SPU and obtained her Licensed Practical Nursing degree through Bellingham Technical College in 1982.
Gayle married Greg in July 1984. As Greg went through the flight training pipeline, they lived in Pensacola, FL, Sacramento, CA, and Sunnyvale, CA. Their first duty station was in Barbers Point, HI from 1986 – 1989. Gayle served as an ombudsmen for the families while Greg’s squadron was on deployment.
After learning that they would probably never be able to have biological children, the couple became foster parents. They started caring for baby Josiah Guerrero when he was 10 days old and weighed just 4 lbs. 10 oz. Gayle and Greg moved to Monterey, CA in January of 1990 but Josiah had to stay behind. In May of that year they received the joyous news that they would be allowed to adopt Josiah. As his story unfolded, Gayle unexpectedly got pregnant, and Rachel was born that same May.
The family of four moved to Azores, Portugal in 1992 and then Port Orchard WA in 1993. At each duty station Gayle got involved and reached out. She loved others well, and made friends that she cared about deeply. In 1996 Greg left active duty and the family moved to Bellinghiam, WA along with good friend Denise Wallingford who was living with them at the time. Elijah joined the family in 1997 and Timothy in 1999.
Gayle, together with Tracy Vandermay and Rhonda Pheifer, founded the ‘Building Charter’ homeschool co-op in 1996. From 2001 to 2008 Gayle and Jim Vandermay led the Light and Life Christian Fellowship youth group. During these years the York Street house was full of kids, fun, and friendship. Gayle was like a second mom to many of the teens and they became like extended family.
In 2010 Gayle re-entered the workforce. She worked initially at a preschool, caring for children and then as a caregiver, providing in-home care to adults.
In 2016 Gayle and Greg adopted Ava Baker who was by then an adult starting her own family. Grandson Jamie was born in 2016, granddaughter Nova in 2016, and granddaughter Juniper in 2017. Gayle enjoyed physical fitness, crafting, and homemaking. She also enjoyed traveling, reading, hiking, and gardening. However, Gayle’s life was organized around serving God. She did this by loving others. When there were needs, Gayle opened her heart and home. There isn’t time or space here to list all of those who Gayle treasured. She was gifted at seeing people the way they really are, as God made them.
In June 0f 2020 Gayle was diagnosed with non small cell lung cancer. Her battle with cancer was tough. She had a lot of pain and increasingly had to give up the things that she enjoyed. Her primary concern was how her death would affect her family. To the end, she continued to choose joy and gratitude. Gayle passed away in January of 2021 shortly after her 60th birthday. We are looking forward to the time when we will see her again.