Gail Howard Flanagan

Gail Howard Flanagan died at her home in Gaithersburg, MD on January 21 surrounded by her five daughters.

Gail was born May 16, 1933 in Schenectady NY to Ruth Hollister and Alan Howard. She was the oldest of 4 children. After graduating from Middlebury College she moved to Boston to work. She met William (Bill) Flanagan there and after a courtship of skiing and sailing they were married in 1958. They were married for almost 59 years until Bill's death in 2017.

Gail and Bill's first home was in Seattle, WA. and where they started their family. Their twin daughters, Patty and Susie, were born first followed soon after by their third daughter, Kelly. Shortly after their move to Nashville, TN, Gail and Bill welcomed a second set of twin daughters, Becca and Jennifer. They remained in Nashville until after retirement, when the call of New England and the North Shore of Massachusetts lured them back. They moved one last time to Gaithersburg to be closer to family.

Those that knew Gail and loved her would describe her as a force of nature and would say that with a big smile. Her daughters had an amazing role model and she inspired many others during her life. She was smart and opinionated and lived life with zest. She loved a good book or mystery and was always up for playing games or solving puzzles - as long as they were challenging enough! Gail enjoyed learning and accepted the challenge of embracing new ideas and new experiences. Over the course of her life she made a career in the then new field of database programming, sought out courses and lectures on current topics and subjects that interested her, and even went snow tubing in her 80's.

Gail loved to travel all over the world with family and friends. She could always be counted on to have the map and to have done plenty of research to know exactly where to go and what to do and see. But her favorite place above all was on the shore of Lake Champlain where she enjoyed beautiful vistas and lifelong friends.

Gail and Bill were without a doubt most proud of their 5 daughters and their 14 grandchildren. They relished all the times when they could be together. The pinnacle of 2023 was celebrating Gail's 90th birthday on a beautiful sunny weekend with all her daughters and their families.

Gail was preceded in death by her husband, William Flanagan, and her sister, Jennifer Howard. She is survived by her siblings, Norman Howard (Nancy) and Holly Pollinger ; her daughters Patty Corona (Al), Susan Morrison (Paul), Kelly Auer (Mischa) , Becca Covert (Bill) and Jennifer Schuette (Larry); her grandchildren, Alessandro, Patrick & Danny Corona, Robbie & Gabe Morrison, Byron & Augustine Auer, Riley & Toby Covert and Megan, Becca, Helen, Liam & Allison Schuette; and her nieces & nephews and their families.

A memorial gathering will be held at Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Saturday, January 27. She will be interred at Hollister Hill Cemetery in Plainfield, Vermont.

In lieu of gifting flowers, we ask that you buy yourself some - Mom would have loved that!