Obituary: Kohls, Gayle Keenan

KOHLS, Gayle Keenan Died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Spokane, Washington, on October 8, 2014.

Gayle was born on January 21, 1947, in Anaconda, Montana, the first child of Thomas Charles Keenan and Ida Valentini Keenan.

She was educated at St. Peter’s Elementary School and graduated from Anaconda Catholic Central High School in 1965.

She attended Gonzaga University from 1965 to 1969, and received a B.A.

in education and psychology.

Gayle married John Kohls on August 2, 1969, in Anaconda.

She first taught elementary grades in the Catholic schools of Spokane and later moved to Silverton, Oregon, where she taught in the Molalla public school district.

Gayle and John returned to Spokane in 1980, where her husband taught in the School of Business Administration at Gonzaga University.

Gayle later received an M.A.

degree in Religious Studies, also from Gonzaga.

She enjoyed traveling to academic conferences around the world with her husband, John.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her loving husband John, who died in 2001.

She is survived by her sister, Charlene Keenan Rollman, of Billings, MT; several cousins; and her dear friends, Sister Alice St. Hilaire of Yakima, WA, and Carolyn Linder and John Beck, both of Spokane.

Gayle was a gentle spirit, who enjoyed attending movies and theater performances, picnics, the view from her patio, eating out with friends, and spending time with her dog, Pongo.

A Memorial Mass will be held in Gayle’s honor on Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 11:00am at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 330 E. Boone Ave., in Spokane.