Jeanette 'Gail' Litchfield, 81

Jeanette “Gail” Litchfield, 81, of Whitefish, passed away peacefully on Jan. 20, 2019, at The Springs where she resided.

Gail was a very giving person. She worked tirelessly as a nurse for most of her life. She always had people whom she was watching at the hospital over to the house for Christmas or Thanksgiving. Some of them most likely weren’t even supposed to be out of the hospital. It was joked about that she just kidnapped them because they didn’t have anyone else to be with during those special times. Regardless of how she made it happen, it definitely took her amazing effort and determination to get four to five of them over to the house and back to the hospital. She loved to make their holidays special and graciously knew it was worth the effort.

Gail’s soulmate Darrel was taken from her within a few years of their marriage. He had three children that Gail raised herself along with her own children, Keith and Kevin. Not an easy feat raising five kids all by yourself.

Instead of complaining, she would take the summers when kids were out of school and drive them to see their grandmother in Michigan. All the kids would pile into a station wagon and drive across the United States, a different way each time, so they could see the entire country.

She drove as fast as she could go while diligently relying on her CB radio in the car. Her handle was Wendy G. She would talk to the truckers and get information on where the police were hanging out so she could slow down.

Although she had a blast on that radio it is unknown if she really needed it. When the police did pull her over and saw her car packed full with five kids they would let her go anyway. Any police that had witnessed that car load most likely would have thought that she had more than enough problems already and certainly wouldn’t write her a ticket.

Gail took those kids to the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Badlands in North Dakota, Mount Rushmore and a lot of other great places.

At the time, all of the kids may not have thought it was the best times, but fortunately she knew better. Now they appreciate how wonderful those trips were and are grateful for her extraordinary patience and commitment to do it every year.

Her son Kevin DeMeritt says, “Thank you for taking care of us. Thank you for taking care of me. I couldn’t have asked for a better Mom. I know the Lord has a good person up there to help him out. I miss you more than I can say and I will never forget all the things you did and gave up for me. I love you Mom.”

A service will be held in Michigan. The service details will be announced at a later date.

Condolences may be shared with the family online on Gail’s tribute page at www.austinfh.com

Austin Funeral and Cremation Services in Whitefish is caring for Gail’s family.