Gayle Tolman 76 passed away Thu, June 4, 2020 at this home in Ogden, Utah. Gayle was born October 19, 1943 in Lewiston, Utah. She was the only child of Ellen Rogers and Ezra Waddoups who loved her very much. She graduated from North Cache High School and got her license as a beautician. While she described her life as an only child as lonely she had very close connections with her cousins and her friends that she still loves today. In 1964 she married her sweetheart Myrthus Lee Austin in the Logan Temple and they had their first child, Tina in January of the next year. Ten months later, Lee was killed in an industrial accident at work. Mom was devastated. Not only was her sweetheart gone, but she was six pregnant with their second child, Pam. Seeking a father for her children, Gayle soon married Wilson Mendanhall. Together, they had one child together, Twila and after their divorced four years later Gayle and the kids moved from Preston, Idaho to Ogden, Utah. There she married Arthur William Parker and had one more child, Steven Lee Austin. Finally, 31 years ago she married the man she would stay with for the rest of her life. Wilson Ted Tolman, who tirelessly cared for her for the past 21 months she has been on hospice.

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Gayle pulled people into her life. She could ride the bus across town and come off it with another lifelong friend that she sincerely cared about. She fiercely loved her family more than anything else in life. “I don’t need to be rich. My family is my treasure.” She would often tell us. In her presence we all felt funny, gifted, and deeply adored.

“I don't need to rich. My family is my treasure.”

Another thing we will never forget about mom was her sense of humor. Even in this past 21 months that she has been so sick, mom would always find something funny or be joking with one of her caretakers. During this illness, I often told her that her sense of humor was such a part of her that it would be the last thing to go and she kept that twinkle in her eye for long into her illness.

Gayle deeply loved the church and lived a life of unwavering faith. She loved music, had a beautiful singing voice and played violin. We all have many heartfelt memories of her singing of hymns, and leading the music in church, and I always felt like everything was right in the world when I would hear her humming as she did dishes or work around the house. Besides church music, she loved Elvis and country and Tim Mcgraw. Really, she just loved music and I have many memories of her teaching me to play the violin.

Finally, mom was an amazingly resilient woman. 21 months ago, she decided to take herself off dialysis , and go home to die. When the doctors sent her home six weeks before her 75th birthday, they gave her 7 to 10 days to live, but they did not know my mom. To their surprise, with what they said was about 6% kidney function. she passed that birthday and even the next one. Last December, mom’s condition become more severe and she again had to be hospitalized. This time doctors sent her home with one to three days to live. Again, they didn’t know my mom, who bounced back and gave us six more months. On the 26th of May, doctors again gave her 24 to 72 hours to live. Though she could no longer eat, drink, talk, respond mom’s vital signs didn’t fall the way they said they would and mom stayed with us for eight days longer than they thought she would. Of course, I was not surprised at her strength and resilience, because I did know my mom.

Mom is survived by her husband Wilson Ted Tolman, four children, Tina Allen, Pamela Townsend, Twila Mendehall, and Steven Austin, 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. She will be deeply missed by all of us along with a great number of family and friends. Mom we love you, and may God, and dad, be with you till we meet again.