Beva Gay Bosco Gilbert

1945 - 2015

Beva Gay Bosco Gilbert, 68, of Idaho Falls, passed away March 31, 2015, at her home. She was under the care of Hospice of Eastern Idaho.

was quirky, strong, hardworking, tireless, athletic, loyal and loving. To those of us who loved her, she was our sounding board and our support. She not only listened, but she understood and she remembered what we told her. In her final days, when she was too sick to eat or drink, she didn't have the strength to hold up the phone, so she put it on speaker. I listened as she took phone calls from her many friends. I heard them trying to talk to her about herself but Gay turned every conversation around. She asked her friends about their families, jobs, setbacks and successes. I felt a tinge of jealousy. I thought of Gay as my best friend, but I always knew I shared her friendship with many others who were lucky enough to have crossed her path. She was a best friend to many of us.

Gay was born Nov. 11, 1945, in Mineola, N.Y. She grew up in Whittier, Calif., as the only child of George B. Bosco and Sarah Margaret Bosco. She graduated from California State University, East Bay, in Hayward, Calif., and spent her early adulthood in California. She moved to Idaho in 1978 and got a job at Idaho National Laboratory. She has a scrapbook full of commendations for her dedication and achievements at her job. But a big part of who Gay was were the mountains she climbed, the hills she skied and the trails she hiked.

Along with her ex-husband, Jerry, Gay ran Solitude Sports in early '80s. She won many awards for her photography, even while refusing to splurge on the trappings of technology. She captured beautiful sunsets, mountain peaks and adorable animal pictures with her 40-year-old Nikon. Gay was an artist. Her photos, drawings and watercolors won awards and grace the walls of many of her friend's homes. Part of her art was creative wood carvings. One of her masterpieces was a hand-carved violin that took her more than 300 hours to create. Finally, Gay was a writer. She has many technical articles to her credit, as well as many other published writings.

In the last year of her life, Gay shared her experiences while preparing for death with her "End-of-Life Lists," which was published by Hospice of Eastern Idaho. Hopefully this pamphlet will help others be as prepared as she was for life's final journey. Those of us who knew her stood in awe of how Gay accepted her illness and shielded others from its ravages.

One of Gay's passions was to reduce her carbon footprint. An avid recycler, conservationist and notorious "cheapskate," she didn't drive when she could walk. She didn't water when she could xeriscape. She didn't turn on the heat when the sun's warmth could be captured and contained. She never used a whole Kleenex when half would do. She and her ex-husband built their own energy-saving solar house. They acted not only as general contractors, but as carpenters, tile setters, carpet layers, painters and masonists too.

Gay took early retirement at 55 to devote her unflagging energy to volunteer work. She was invaluable to Tautphaus Park Zoo, Eastern Idaho Art Guild, AARP Tax Aid and Hospice of Eastern Idaho. She received awards for her many volunteer hours logged. She became a "Master Naturalist" and volunteered at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and other places. She may have been cheap, but she was also generous. Her many donations helped to support the zoo and Teton Regional Land Trust. Her legacy to Teton Regional Land Trust will live on long after she is gone.

What Gay was best at was being a friend. She was there to help some of us pick our apple crops, rehabilitate raccoons, capture and rehome pelicans, canvass neighborhoods for causes, help us move, or help us do whatever we needed her for. Especially, she was there to celebrate our joys and hold our hands in our sorrows. She loved to watch bull riding with us, watch and discuss movies, snowshoe, cross country ski, do puzzles, bike, dance and hike. Perhaps because Gay never had a permanent family, she took friendship seriously. I know she was thrilled towards the end of her life to discover that she did have some relatives to reach out to and that these loving people came to visit and support her.

Gay was very successful in reducing her carbon footprint. She tread lightly on this earth and left no scars. But Gay, the footprints you left on our hearts are not so insignificant. Those footprints are going to ache every time we want to call you and we remember that we can't. They'll ache every time we hike though Freeman Park without you at our sides. Unlike your carbon footprints, the good things you did for us and for this community will remain for a long, long time. Goodbye dear friend.

Memorial contributions for Gay can be made to Teton Regional Land Trust, P.O. Box 247, Driggs, ID 83422. An open house to celebrate her life is planned from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, at her home, located at 3880 Tuscany in Idaho Falls.