Gayle Kay Atwell, age 83, passed away on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at Lenawee Medical Care Facility. She was born in Tecumseh, Michigan, on September 25, 1940 to the late Arnold and Aileen (Roff) Swift.
Gayle began her schooling at the Sutton one room school house where she continued until she transferred to the Tecumseh school system, from which she graduated in 1958. After her graduation, she began work as an operator for the General Telephone Company (GTE), with a starting wage of $1.00 per hour. She married her first husband, the late Lee Jenkins, and they made their home in Britton, MI. When she became pregnant, company policy dictated that she had to terminate her job. She and Lee had three children before they divorced. She later married the late James Atwell, and they had one child. She also returned to work at GTE where she discovered that the wages had increased 25 cents since she had left twelve years ago.
James and Gayle lived on eleven acres in the Irish Hills where they raised their family, along with all of the horses, rabbits, the occasional bovine, and sheep that were part of the 4-H activities of their children. Gayle loved her family and her children very much, and also her special dog. She enjoyed traveling, flowers, reading, the smell of fresh mown grass, and everything nature had to offer. She loved to remind everyone that “It’s been a fun ride”.
Gayle is survived by three daughters, Kay Duncan, Michelle (Larry) Shields, and Kimberley Atwell; one son, Mark Jenkins; and three grandchildren, Tad Duncan, Kyle (Kila) Duncan, and Brandon Shields. In addition to her husband, James, and her parents, she was preceded in death by her son-in-law, Andy Duncan and a grandson, Keith Duncan.
Visitation for Gayle will be 3pm – 7 pm, Monday, August 12, 2024 and 10am -11am, Tuesday August 13, 2024 at the Tecumseh Chapel of Handler Funeral Homes. Funeral services will be held 11am, Tuesday, August 12, 2024, at the funeral home, with Pastor Diane White officiating. Burial will follow at the Raisin Valley Friends Cemetery, in Birdsall, Michigan. Memorial contributions may be made to the Catherine Cobb Safe House in Adrian or the Lenawee Humane Society.