Gail Hunt Henry (1948–2023)

gail at skagway, AK.

Gail Hunt Henry died on October 18, 2023, in her home in Bethesda, MD, at the age of 74. She chose to have hospice care after two years of treatment for ovarian cancer.

Gail was born on December 24, 1948, to Russell Aubrey Hunt, Jr. and Bessie Clark Hunt (Burris) in Chicago, IL. She grew up in Griffith, IN. She was the tether ball champ of 6th grade and in high school was on the volleyball team. Gail helped to start inter-mural team competitions for girls in northwest Indiana before Title IX was even a concept. She played clarinet and oboe in the band and served as president of the National Honor Society and of the Girls’ Athletic Association. She received a National Science Foundation grant to study at Western Michigan University in the summer of 1965; this experience expanded her awareness of academic opportunities beyond what was available in Griffith. After graduating as valedictorian of her class, Gail spent the summer in Japan with family friends and had the adventure of traveling home through Alaska and the Yukon.

sam and gail.

Gail graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She majored in mathematics, minored in German, and made lifelong friends there. She spent six months studying in Erlangen, Germany. (While never feeling fully fluent in German, her pronunciation and memory of enough phrases caused her to be mistaken for native by several Germans when traveling through Frankfurt decades later.)

After graduating in 1970, Gail took a job in Chicago, working for the Illinois Trauma Program at Cook County Hospital. She met her future husband, Robert Meade Henry, and they married in 1972 and moved to Washington, DC. Gail studied computer science at the University of Maryland. She worked as a programmer at Moshman Associates, later Quantum Research Corporation, with a break to raise her two children. She returned to QRC in 1994, serving first as a manager and then vice president. When the company was bought by ORC Macro, Gail was instrumental in making sure that health benefits were extended to all LGBTQ employees. She retired in 2009.

gail, maggie, sam, and michael.

Gail’s marriage to Bob ended and amicably dissolved after she realized in her 40s that she was a lesbian. She met the love of her life, Amy (Sam) Francis, in 1991 when Sam came to teach at the school where Gail was serving as PTA treasurer. They had a commitment ceremony on October 12, 1996, and after the Defense of Marriage Act was abolished, they were legally married on the same date in 2013.

Gail and Sam lived in the Burleith neighborhood of Washington, DC, and as “the moms,” continued raising Gail’s son (Michael) and daughter (Maggie). The two traveled to Spain, Peru, and New Zealand as well as vacationed around the United States. Snorkeling trips in Hawaii and the Virgin Islands were repeated as well as yearly stays on Star Island off the coast of Portsmouth, NH.

gail, maggie, and michael, star island, nh.

Gail was a smart, funny, take-charge kind of person whose warmth and concern for others endeared her to all who knew her. A member of River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Gail served on many committees and was active in leading the church through its “Welcoming Congregation” process. In 2017, as the Womens’ March took shape, Gail contacted local Unitarian churches and coordinated efforts to house hundreds of out-of-town protestors. When Gail and Sam moved from DC to Bethesda in 2015, Gail became active in local gardening and quilting groups. The friends she made were incredibly supportive during her two-year illness.

Gail was predeceased by her parents and her ex-husband. She is survived by her wife Sam Francis, her son Michael (Skye), daughter Maggie (Hamish), four grandchildren, her siblings Judy (Dave), Curt (Cheryl), and many nieces and nephews. Family and a multitude of friends from near and far supported Gail (and Sam) in many ways during her illness, and for this Sam and the family express their unending gratitude.

gail, michael, maggie, and bob, washington, dc.

A memorial celebration will be held at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation on April 13, 2024, at 5 pm. The service will be live-streamed at https://youtube.com/live/LdbfQNF6rSo for those unable to attend in person.

Gail had many passions and groups that she supported in life and a donation to any of these would honor her memory: River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation; Star Island in Portsmouth, NH; Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.