Gail Graham Dolandied peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, April 6, 2012, in Norwich, Vermont. She succumbed to complications resulting from leukemia that she had battled courageously since her diagnosis in April 2011. She died at home where she always wanted to be.

Gail was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on December 22, 1943, the first of four children to Amy Constance (Johnson) and Gordon A. Graham. Her family moved to Stratford, Connecticut in 1950 where Gail attended schools, graduating from Bunnell High School in 1961.

After working for a law firm in Bridgeport, Gail graduated from Becker College in 1965. She met Frank Dolan while playing volleyball in the backyard of her college dormitory, and they carried on a long-distance courtship while Frank followed his job around the country. They were married on September 20, 1968 in Bridgeport and soon moved to Norwich where they have made their home since January 1969.

Gail worked as a medical secretary at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital until Kirsten came along in 1971. Andy was born in 1974 and Gail remained at home with her children until 1983 when she started teaching at the Norwich Nursery School. Gail positively influenced the early lives of many local children throughout her 24-year career at NNS, retiring from teaching in 2007. She also worked as student registrar at the Marion Cross School in Norwich from 1990 until 2008. While there, she had the pleasure of following the growth of many of her nursery school students from kindergarten through the sixth grade. She remembered and was remembered by many of her former students when they would meet in the community.

Gail enjoyed pursuits outside of work, including travel both international and around the U.S., and she liked to relax near water, whether collecting sharks teeth on Florida beaches or resting on the dock at her cottage on Joe's Pond in West Danville, Vermont. She loved to host gatherings at home and in particular the annual holiday party for neighbors on McKenna Road. Her home was the scene of many family get-togethers with many nieces and nephews sharing beds and sleeping on floors so they could all enjoy winter together in Vermont.

Among the many people who will miss Gail, her survivors include her husband Frank, daughter Kirsten of Littleton, Colorado, son Andy and grandson Zach who brought so much joy to Gail, and his mother Tracy, all of Eagle, Colorado. Gail is also survived by her mother Connie, sister Janis McGuire and her husband Jim, and brother Richard Graham and his wife Chris, all of Stratford, Connecticut, and sister Dee Palmer and her husband Bruce of Danville, Vermont. Gail was also blessed to have many nieces and nephews who considered her their idol, and many great-nieces and great-nephews. Gail cherished her friends and family and kept them all in a special place in her heart.

The family is planning a memorial service for Gail in Norwich later in the spring or early summer. Details will be announced after arrangements are completed. In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Gail's memory, contributions can be made to the Norris Cotton Cancer Center where Gail always received excellent and compassionate care, in support of cancer research (www.cancer.dartmouth.edu), or to The Family Place, 319 US Route 5 South, Norwich, VT 05055, which Gail supported enthusiastically.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.