GORDON- Gail R., of West Islip, LI, passed away at home on January 16, 2021 at the age of 73. Predeceased by her loving parents, Robert L. & Blanche (Huestis) Gordon, she leaves behind her brother, Robert M.Gordon and sister-in-law Jane Ellen Thompson. A lifelong resident of West Islip, Gail grew up loving music. From a young age, she studied piano, singing, ballet and tap. Voted “Most Musical” in her Senior High School Class, she played piano and sang in choirs and theater productions. For over 40 years Gail was an enthusiastic member of the James Street Players in Babylon. If not reading a good book, one would find Gail at the piano often accompanied by her father and brother playing and singing broadway tunes and popular music from the 40s and 50s. After graduating West Islip High School, Gail attended Cornell University earning a BA in History in 1969. In 1972, she was one of five women in a class of 163 to earn a JD from Cornell Law School. Upon graduation Gail clerked at Cullen and Dykman before opening her own law practice in Garden City. In later years she worked as a corporate attorney in Corporate Governance, Litigation Management and Real Estate. In addition to being a member of the New York State Bar Association, Gail was a member of the Nassau County Bar Association, the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals and the Institute for Supply Management. She also served as a Volunteer Attorney for the Mortgage Foreclosure Clinic.

From her father, Gail inherited a love of Scottish culture. Active in both the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Scottish Heritage Society, Gail passionately focused on genealogical research. Before traveling to Scotland and Nova Scotia, she studied Gaelic to further her research and traced her ancestry to the 1500s in multiple branches of her family tree. Able to jump into lively debate on any topic, Gail’s interests spanned politics, history, the environment, opera (she loved the Met), the Scottish Highland Games, car shows and hockey games. She grappled with her dreams and reality through the whole of her life. A graveside service will be held at Greenfield Cemetery, Uniondale, LI, NY on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 1:30 pm. The family requests that those wishing to honor Gail’s memory with a charitable contribution consider donations be made to The James Street Players (Babylon, NY) or The Natural Resources Defense Council. Arrangements entrusted to The Fredrick J. Chapey & Sons West Islip Funeral Home. www.chapeyfamily.com