Gail Baravetto

Gail was born on Nov. 3, 1944, in Iron Mountain, and is the daughter of James and Rose (Andrini) Baravetto and youngest sister of Donald (Lola), Roger (Pat), and Jim Baravetto. Gail is the mother of Gina (Jim) Barkalow Kay, Deidra (Tim) Little, Travis Barkalow, as well as her “son” Malian Madou and family. She is Nonna to four grandchildren: Weston, Elliot, Owen, and Maizy and a few other “grandkids,” David and Nick.

Our mother was born and raised a proud Yooper, in the Upper Peninsula town of Iron Mountain, where she was surrounded by her large Italian family and the natural beauty of the U.P. Being raised as a Yooper gave our mother numerous outdoor activities, including hours of horseback riding with childhood friends, hiking, swimming, and cruising the main drag in brother Jimmy’s ’55 Ford ragtop convertible.

After graduating from Iron Mountain High School in 1962, Gail began her adventures by moving to Milwaukee with good friend, Barb. She then furthered her adventures by getting married to Bruce Barkalow and living in Texas, Wyoming, and California. Settled in Sacramento, she worked as an administrative assistant at McClaskey Adult Center, a special education school for adults with disabilities, a job she loved, while raising three kids.

After her divorce and years later, she and her friend drove a moving truck from Sacramento back home to Iron Mountain, where she stayed for 24 years. There she worked and retired as an administrative assistant for the local paper mill and was the Diocesan Coordinator for Episcopal Relief and Development. However, the pull to come out west to be near her grandkids and kids brought her to Idaho.

Gail was involved in many things, as her motto was, “Do what you can while you can.” She enjoyed traveling and visited the countries of Mali, West Africa, Honduras, Belize, and Italy to meet our Italian relatives. All these adventures have many stories to tell. Gail had many hobbies, as well. This included pottery, painting, African drumming, yoga, pilates, hiking, biking, kayaking, horseback riding, cooking and baking anything that sounded unusual (a favorite being dill pickle soup), gardening, soap making, rescuing cats, organizing family reunions, and making sure there was always a “group” photo.

She also stayed active by volunteering with many of her grandkids’ activities, such as, piano recitals, school nature walks, and fiddling and marching band competitions. Gail also enjoyed helping students in the classroom and providing new opportunities and adventures to the children of Grace Episcopal church, such as visiting the ocean and hiking in the mountains.

Gail would often say, “Don’t invite me to do anything unless you’re serious, because the only things I won’t do are bungee jumping and sky diving.”

She is survived by her three children, two son-in-laws, four grandchildren, two cats, nieces and nephew, cousins, extended family, and many wonderful friends.

Gail is preceded in death by her parents and three older brothers.

A Celebration of Gail’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at Dakan Funeral Chapel in Caldwell. A light reception will immediately follow at the C.V. Peckham Community Center next to the funeral home. As Gail would say, “All are welcome.”

Please visit www.dakanfuneralchapel.com to watch the livestream of the service and leave a condolence.

Memorials may be made in memory of Gail to any of the three organizations Episcopal Relief and Development, West Valley Humane Society or The House Next Door.

Dakan Funeral Chapel has been honored to care for Gail and her family.