Gayle Oliver Ide
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Gayle Oliver Ide passed peacefully on July 28, 2021, after living life to the fullest, even after a dementia diagnosis two years ago. Her greatest joy in life came from her family, including eleven grandchildren- Lindie, Lucie and Wilson Ide; Ivy, Isabel, Madeline and Evelyn Reynolds; and Sandro, Diego, Oscar and Leo Garcia-Ide, who had the blessing of having "Gigi" in their daily lives.
Gayle was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1943, to Nava and Lucien Oliver. She moved to Long Island with her parents and sister Julie Oliver (Freudenstein) where she attended the Green Vale School before moving to Atlanta in 1958 where she attended the Westminster Schools. Equipped with both brains and beauty, Gayle was on the May Court and insisted that she be able to take advanced math up at the "Boys School." While only at Westminster for three years, Gayle developed lifelong friends who maintained possibly the world's longest meeting book club. She remained close to her friends in Atlanta and around the world who brought her tremendous joy, and she was fortunate to visit with many of them in recent times.
She went on to major in French at Vanderbilt University, spending a fantastic semester at Aix-en-Provence, where she learned to dream in French and developed a lifelong love for pain au chocolat. Working for Revlon in New York City in 1964, she met Roy William Ide III at a party. When he asked if she was seeing anyone, she quickly ditched her date and said she was available, which was the beginning of a 57-year romance. Gayle and Bill both moved back to Atlanta in 1965, where she worked for Eastern Airlines and Allstate. Despite many well-qualified suitors, somehow Bill convinced Gayle to marry him in 1967. Children Logan, Jennifer and Lucie quickly followed.
A devoted servant to Atlanta's civic community, Gayle served on the boards of the Junior League, Atlanta Forward Arts Foundation, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Parents Association of Westminster, Samaritan Center at First Presbyterian, and many others. Never one to want attention, Gayle quietly served meals to the homeless and individuals living with AIDS through Lutheran Community Food Ministries and Redeemer's AIDS task force. Gayle was a passionate follower of politics and supporter of progressive causes. She was an ace tennis player and took great joy in being the best pickleball player in the family.
Gayle was a tireless mother and wife. She planned amazing family trips, and visited her children in Virginia, Vermont, Kenya, Spain, England, Colorado, California, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, and Miami until she was lucky enough to have them settle in Atlanta where she saw them on an almost daily basis. She was a partner to Bill in building his career and realizing his professional and philanthropic goals. Gayle devoted a year to serve as the First Lady of the American Bar Association, meeting with lawyers and their families around the world. Gayle and Bill travelled the world together, usually with children or grandchildren in tow. Her harrowing escape from charging elephants in Kenya can only be topped by her being hit by a falling jockey and his horse at the Palio as displayed on the front page of the Rome, Italy newspaper the next
day. Bill and Gayle celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2017 with a surprise party thrown by their children and 11 grandchildren who danced the night away with Gigi and Bill.
Gayle was able to flirt her way out of every traffic ticket, but she had to plead guilty when cited by Fulton County for owning too many dogs. Gayle never lost her sense of wit and humor, whether it was teaching her dogs circus tricks, making rabbits out of cloth napkins at a fancy restaurant, or wearing her pink fur fedora to celebrations. She did yoga before yoga was cool, loved to play Heart and Soul on the piano with her sister Julie and grandkids, and somehow remained slim and stylish while eating ice cream every single day of her life. She dressed in costume every Halloween. Each Christmas, she delighted in lining up her children and grandchildren to perform the Twelve Days of Christmas; musical talent was outweighed by sheer joy and silliness. She lived by her father's favorite expression - YOLO - and she did it with grace, love, and beauty.
So many people loved and supported Gayle in the last two years as she lived with dementia. The family thanks Dr. Allan Levey and his team at Emory Brain Health, Dr. Ibrez Bandukwala, Dr. Bob Dalton, all of Gayle's friends who brought her so much joy, and Derrick Washington who was a devoted friend and adventurer to Gayle over the past 6 months.
Gayle believed in coming to the party looking your best and leaving on a high note. She will be remembered with unparalleled love by her husband R. William ("Bill") Ide III, children Logan Ide (Cameron), Jennifer Ide (Matt Reynolds), and Lucie Ide (Humberto Garcia-Sjogrim), her 11 grandchildren, her sister and brother-in-law Julie and Paul Freudenstein, their children Ann (Robin) Eaves and Mack (Ashley) Freudenstein and great nieces and nephews Katherine, Olivia, Carter and Ansley, nieces Jannie McDaniel, Chrissie Shane, and Mary Lou Jorgenson, cousin Kathy (John) Scarborough, and her beloved standard poodle, Prancer. Gayle was predeceased by her parents, Nava and Lucien Oliver, her sister Joyce Jorgenson, and many beloved family dogs.
The family will hold a private service with a celebration of life at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to be made in Gayle Oliver Ide's memory to Lutheran Community Food Ministries, 731 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308, or the Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Emory University, 1762 Clifton Rd, NE
Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30322.