LORNA LOSH

1941 - 2016

Lorna Gail Gordon Losh February 23, 1941 - August 22, 2016

Gail was born in Vancouver BC to Margaret Webb Gordon and Alexander Lorenzo Gordon. She is survived by her husband Sam Losh of Pasadena and her sister Margaret Alix James of Gibsons, BC. Another sister, Lorenne Clark of Vancouver, died recently.
Gail graduated from the University of British Columbia and joined her first husband, David Wales in Cambridge, Mass., where he was completing a doctorate in mathematics at Harvard. She loved teaching six year-olds at Belmont Day School. They moved to Pasadena when David received his doctorate and accepted an appointment to Caltech. They subsequently divorced. David retains an emeritus position at Caltech
They have two children, Jonathan Wales, now of Huntington Beach, and Jennifer Singleton, now living in Chapel Hill NC with her husband Scott and their sons Matthew and Joshua.
Gail earned a JD from USC and worked for the City Attorney of Los Angeles under Burt Pines. Then she practiced law with Pillsbury and with Hughes Hubbard and Reed. She had leadership positions in the Real Property section of the CA Bar Assn, the Pacific Rim Council for Urban Development, the Los Angeles-Vancouver Sister Cities Assn, Lambda Alpha, a real property fraternity, and she actively supported the International Visitors Council of LA.
In 2001, she and Sam Losh were married. Thus she acquired Liz and Stephen Losh as children, as well as Sam's step children, Janie Shary and Bob Morris, and nieces and nephews who descended from Sam's sister Alberta Vaughan. These added to Gail's many nieces and nephews in Canada.
Since 2008, Gail fought a persistent battle with Alzheimer's, participating in clinical trials, while keeping up her active lifestyle. She and Sam skied, visited 106 countries, loved opera and other music, and had a full and active life until 2012 when she could no longer live at home. Gail was then cared for at Mission Lodge for three years and at Solheim in Eagle Rock for her final year. Special thanks go to Esperanza Velasquez and Rochelle Jacutan, Gail's caregivers.
A Memorial will be held at the Caltech Athenaeum in Pasadena at noon October 1.
No flowers please. Donations to the Alzheimer's Association would be appreciated.