M. Gail (Caffrey) Gardes

Gail Gardes passed away on September 1, 2020. She was the beloved wife of the late John Patrick Gardes; mother of Kevin, Greg, Brian, Tim, and Brendan Gardes and Susan Marcos; grandmother to 11 and great-grandmother to five. Gail was born in Plattsburgh, NY and raised in Arlington, VA. In her youth, she spent her summers at the Benning family farm in Clyde, NY with her cousins, aunts, uncles and her grandmother. Gail attended St. Mary’s Academy in Alexandria where she was the valedictorian of her graduating class. Gail attended the University of Maryland where she was the president of her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta.

As a result of her father working on Capitol Hill for many years, Gail had a strong interest in politics. She started her professional life working on Capitol Hill and then took a break to have children. She and Pat raised their family primarily in Greenbelt. Gail was very active at St. Hugh’s Catholic Church as a parishioner as well as the administrative assistant in the 1970’s. Following that, she worked at the University of Maryland as well as Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bethesda. She very much enjoyed working with the clergy and became good friends with Monsignor O’Donnell and Sister Maureen.

Gail was very active with her children’s school and extracurricular activities, including Cub Scouts and Greenbelt Swim Team. She was often in her car shuttling her kids to practices, newspaper route pickups, swim meets and scouting trips.

Gail was the kind of person that valued friendships and maintained years-long relationships with friends from childhood, high school, college and others she met along the way. She was also a friend to many through her more than forty years of attending local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and retreats. She had an amazing ability to recall events and people from years past as if they were yesterday.

Her interests included rooting for the Orioles and trying new restaurants and enjoying old favorites such as Cantler’s Riverside Inn and Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Gail loved traveling, sightseeing and visiting family around the U.S. and abroad including Mexico, Europe, and Israel. She looked forward to the biennial Gardes family reunion which took place at various memorable locations around the country. In her down time, Gail was apt to spend time at Bethany Beach, reading books and doing crossword puzzles.

Gail was a kind, generous person who had time for any and all. Since her passing, her many friends and relatives have reached out to the family to confirm what a wonderful person she was. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Hugh of Grenoble Catholic Church on Tuesday, October 6th at 10 am.

Those wishing to honor Gail may give to Catholic Charities.