Gayle Averill

Gayle Lynne Payne Averill, age 76, passed away at the Sage Grove Assisted Living Center in Rigby, Idaho, on Monday, April 16, 2018. Gayle was born February 10, 1942, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Nellie Lowe Walters and Harold Barnes Payne. Gayle was raised as an only child and enjoyed growing up on Hubbard Avenue in Salt Lake City, just walking distance from Liberty Park where she and her parents would enjoy frequent visits. Gayle enjoyed getting dressed up to go into town with her parents, window shopping at all the shops surrounding Temple Square, and catching dinner at the Little America Hotel Coffee Shop. Of course, no trip to downtown was complete for Gayle without making a stop to ZCMI. Gayle always longed for the return of the era of the 1940’s and 1950’s where men dressed in suits and women put on their best dresses and accompanying apparel for a day or night out on the town. Gayle had a best friend named Janice who lived across the street and who would frequently invite her to attend LDS church services and social events. Through this friendship, Gayle was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the age of 14, Gayle met Clair Eugene Averill, Jr. (aka Gene Averill) at an LDS stake youth dance, and they have been together ever since. Gayle attended South High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated with the class of 1960. While Gayle was finishing up high school, her sweetheart, Gene, was hard at work in the United States Marine Corps. Gene’s singular goal at that time was to make Corporal and marry Gayle in the same year. Mission accomplished. On September 3, 1960, Gayle married Gene in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were later sealed in the LDS San Diego California Temple on December 26, 2001. Over the course of Gene’s military career, Gayle accompanied him and together they were stationed at and/or lived on or near military bases in the following locations: Camp Pendleton in Southern California, Quantico, VA, Whidbey Island, WA, Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii, Camp Lejeune, NC, Norfolk, VA, and Mechanicsburg, PA. Gayle thoroughly enjoyed being a housewife, a mother, a grandmother, a writer and a fabulous cook. She was equal to the task of raising three children while military demands occupied much of her husband’s time. Gayle always felt that her greatest accomplishment in life was that of raising her children, sending her two boys off on missions for the LDS Church and having her daughter marry a returned missionary, who would later become a Bishop. Gayle delighted in spending time with her grandchildren and spoiling them with birthday and Christmas gifts...or just whenever they came to visit! Upon Gene’s retirement from the USMC, Gene and Gayle moved their family to Garden Grove, California. It was during her time in Orange County that she took her cooking skills to the next level. Gayle worked part-time as a cook for Jay’s Catering, a premier food catering company in Southern California that would provide food for exclusive upscale events. Gayle was constantly utilizing her new found culinary skills to grace her Sunday dinner table and to make fun treats to share with the youth she taught in her Sunday School classes. After five years of living in Garden Grove, Gene and Gayle moved to Canyon Lake, California, where they would spend their next 20 years. Gayle made many friends in the Canyon Lake Ward (now called the Canyon Hills Ward) who became very dear to her. Gayle served in many capacities while in the Canyon Lake Ward, including in the Relief Society Presidency and Young Women’s Presidency, however her favorite callings always surrounded teaching Sunday School classes for the youth. During the open house of the LDS Redlands California Temple, Gayle was asked to serve with Gene as Temple Tour Guides, an assignment that she cherished. In 2007, Gene and Gayle purchased property near Ririe, Idaho, so that Gene could return to the outdoors and enjoy fly fishing and raising cows. Gayle missed the many shopping comforts of Southern California (i.e. Nordstrom’s) but made the sacrifice because she loved Gene more. She also made many dear friends in the Ririe 3rd Ward, where she enjoyed being a primary teacher and working with the 8-11 year old girls. In late 2015, Gayle was diagnosed with moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease. Gene and Gayle spent their final years together doing what they loved most: enjoying each other’s company and visiting with their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Gene passed away in January of 2018, and Gayle missed him terribly. It came as no surprise that they would soon be together again as Gayle’s Alzheimer’s had progressed into the final stages. Gayle is survived by her children, Gregory (Ann) Averill of Fort Collins, Colorado, Andrea (Clark) Johnson of Menifee, California, and Jason (Lacy) Averill of Ririe, Idaho, fifteen grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Gene, and her half-brother, Al Crockett. A funeral service will be held in Gayle’s honor on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side in Ammon, Idaho (963 South Ammon Road). The family will meet with friends prior to services at the funeral home from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. Interment will be in the Ririe-Shelton Cemetery.

Funeral Services will be held