On March 29, 2023, Gayle (Abrams) Lewis died in Colby, Kansas, after a
long fight with Lupus. Gayle was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to
Colonel John and Harriet Abrams on January 16, 1951. She had one older
brother, Stephen. The family moved to Fort Riley, Kansas in 1952. In
1953, Colonel Abrams and family deployed to France where he was assigned
to the Army hospital in LaRochelle and the family lived in the rural
outskirts, in wine growing country.
Upon retiring from the
military, the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where the extended
members of the family lived, ultimately buying a home in newly
developing Prairie Village, Kansas, in 1955. Gayle attended elementary
school, junior high school, and high school at Shawnee Mission East
where she graduated in 1969. Gayle enrolled at the University of
Kansas, beginning a lifetime love of all things Jayhawk, and began
working as a bank teller in Lawrence, Kansas. Her parents retired to
Scottsdale, Arizona, and Gayle followed, finding employment again in
banking. Gayle enjoyed a close relationship with her parents until
their deaths. She had begun to experience health problems and in 2007
moved to Colorado to live with her brother Stephen and sister-in-law
Sherry, in Bailey, Colorado.
In 2015, the family moved to western
Kansas to enjoy retirement. Gayle enjoyed the wildlife and the slower
pace of life, as well as family visits of the Abrams sons and families.
In 2022, her health further deteriorated. She spent several months in
Citizens Medical Center in Colby, where she received loving daily care
and attention.
Gayle is preceded in death by her parents, John
and Harriet Abrams, her grandparents, Bella and Joseph Yaffe, as well as
all her aunts and uncles. She is survived by her brother, Stephen
Abrams and sister-in-law Sherry of Colby, their son Aaron and his wife
Nicole and nieces Katelynn, Lucy and Carly of Fallbrook, California; and
their son Logan, his wife Laura, and their children Tate and Shelby, of
Hughes Springs, Texas.
Cremation was chosen. Gayle requested no
memorial service. Memorials may be made to Citizens Medical Center,
Respiratory Therapy Dept. and sent in care of Kennedy-Koster Funeral
Home, P.O. Box 221, Oakley, KS 67748.
Sign the online guestbook at www.kennedykosterfh.com.