Gail Hollifield, former long-time resident of Grand Forks, passed away on April 28, 2021 at the age of 77 in Kennebunk, Maine.
Shirley Gail Crockett was born in Dover, NH on October 4, 1943. She and her family moved often due to her stepfather’s military career with the Marines. She graduated from Camp Lejeune High School in North Carolina at the age of 16 and began attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There she met Mason Hollifield, whom she married in 1963. She was a committed Air Force wife, moving the family often and supporting her husband through four tours in Vietnam. Mason retired from the military in 1982 and he and Gail stayed in Grand Forks. They divorced in 1992.
When both of Gail’s children started school, she went back to college part-time, eventually obtaining her B.S. and M.S in Speech Language Pathology from the University of North Dakota. Gail spent almost 20 years working in the Grand Forks public school system, mainly at Nathan F. Twining School on Grand Forks AFB and Valley Middle School. She touched the lives of many students, sometimes teaching their children as well. Gail retired in 2008.
During retirement, Gail could be found reading the latest best-seller, seeing the latest blockbuster, auditing classes at UND (mainly in Religious Studies and Native American Studies), volunteering at St. Vincent De Paul’s thrift shop, and spending time with friends. In 2017 Gail moved back east to be closer to her siblings. Parkinson’s disease and worsening dementia meant she needed to go into a memory care unit, but she enjoyed visits from her children, sisters, brother, and nephews.
Gail is survived by her children, Jill Hollifield of St. Louis, MO and Dr. Matthew Broadwater-Hollifield (Camille) of Salt Lake City, UT. She is also survived by her siblings Wendy Markoff, Garry (Pauline) Markoff, and Wanda Daniele, as well as her nephews Benjamin (Rachael) Phipps, Camden (Morgan) Towne and Jake Daniele.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Gail’s name can be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.