Gayle Lori Raab Plumb passed away on the evening of Wednesday, July 16th. She was in her home, at rest in her favorite place, the living room couch by the windows looking out to the garden. Her son, Ryan, was holding her hand. With her in the room were her husband, Larry, and all her other children: Tim, Clea, Anna and Rachael. It was a beautiful and peaceful passing. Bob Dylan’s “You’re gonna make me lonesome when you go” was playing on the record player.
Gayle was born on March 7, 1952 in Orange County, California to Harold and Arlene Raab. She was their eldest child, followed by a younger brother Mark and sister Jill. As a girl, Gayle learned sewing from her grandmother, Erma Mae, and it was a hobby, along with gardening, that she practiced all her life. In high school she worked as editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, then earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Cal State Long Beach. Later in life, she received her Master of Arts in Education from Portland State University and was a kindergarten teacher at Banks Elementary. Some of her earliest childhood friends, Helen Johnson, Chris Lewis, Denise Smeltzer and Debbie Nieto were her closest friends to the end of her life.
Gayle moved from Southern California to Oregon in 1984, after the birth of her two children. In 1990, she began working at Childpeace Montessori School, where she met Larry Plumb. Gayle and Larry married in 1991, joining her children, Ryan and Rachael Wilson with Larry’s, Tim, Clea and Anna Plumb to create the “Willumb family.” She was very proud of this family and her greatest regret was all that she will miss as they continue to create their wonderful lives and families. She is survived by them all, including two grandchildren, Oliver and Oscar, as well as both her parents and siblings.
Gayle’s presence in the lives she touched was graceful and heartwarming. She was one of Earth’s kindest souls and she is dearly missed. She was a grateful person and considered it a real blessing that her ashes will be scattered at the spectacularly peaceful Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge.