Gail Elizabeth (Bartmess) Blackburn

November 23, 1938 – August 24, 2026

Gail Elizabeth (Bartmess) Blackburn, 87, passed away on August 24, 2026, at her home in Molalla, Oregon, under the hospice care of her family, with her husband, Bill, at her side.

Gail was born in Portland, Oregon, on November 23, 1938, the daughter of Myron Henkle Bartmess and Josephine Mary (Ruch) Bartmess. When Gail was in the sixth grade, the family moved to Hood River, where she spent the rest of her school years.

From a young age, Gail was no stranger to work. Over the years she held a variety of jobs, including working in the family hardware store, along with several other jobs that reflected the independence and resourcefulness she carried throughout her life.

After high school, Gail attended Oregon College of Education in Monmouth, Oregon. It was there that she met William (Bill) Robert Blackburn in a way the family would remember for years. Bill was sitting in Gail’s chair. She told him to move, so he did, but not far. That small beginning led to a marriage of nearly 67 years. Gail and Bill were married on November 15, 1959, and later made their home in Molalla.

Gail devoted herself to her family and to making their home a place of love, stability, and belonging. She managed a busy household with remarkable energy, resourcefulness, and more than a little determination. She ran a tight ship, but it was a ship with room for everyone.

Gail and Bill raised three children, Froi Elizabeth (Blackburn) Otter, Tyrone (Tye) Robert Blackburn, and David Floyd Blackburn. But the family they created extended well beyond the three children born to them. Over the years, Gail and Bill opened their home to foster children of all ages. Some stayed only for a short time, others much longer, but Gail cared for each as part of the family. Looking back on those years, Gail wrote of the foster children, “They all enriched our whole family lives.”

Gail and Bill also loved being in the woods, spending a great deal of their time there together. Over the years, they purchased three small tree farms, where there was always something to do - and where they were happiest doing it together.

Gail and Bill also loved to travel and camp together. Their adventures began simply, with an old green Jeep and a canvas tent, and over the years graduated to a Suburban and travel

trailer. They explored much of the West and took their children and, later, their grandchildren camping throughout the Northwest. The Metolius River in Oregon was a favorite destination throughout the years, along with regular trips to the Sunriver area in Idaho. Their travels also took them farther from home, including Washington, D.C., for a congressional visit, visits with family in Florida and Pennsylvania, and side trips to New York City.

As the years passed, the family Gail had spent her life building continued to grow. She is survived by her husband, Bill; their children, Froi, Tye, and David; ten grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter, Lucy, whom Gail had the joy of meeting before her passing.

She is also survived by her siblings, Leslie Kreitler, Mary Kramer, Craig Bartmess, and Matthew Bartmess, her nieces and nephew, and by a wonderfully large extended family of foster children, and their families, whom she welcomed into her home and treated as her own, including Gary Lovell, Cindy Butler, and Kris Kuipers.

A funeral Mass for Gail will be held on September 3, 2026, at St. James Catholic Church, 301 Frances Street, Molalla, Oregon. Viewing will begin at 9:00 a.m., followed by the Rosary at 9:30 a.m. and Mass at 10:00 a.m. A luncheon will follow. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Mt. Angel, Oregon.

Years earlier, when asked to look back on her life for her 60th high school reunion, Gail found a few simple words to sum it all up. They seem just as fitting now:

“It has been a wonderful life.” — Gail