Elsie passed away peacefully on Friday, February 17, 2017 at the age of 97, after a lifetime of pouring love into everyone she met. For the past year, she had been living with her granddaughter, Wendy and husband Bryan Paull.

Elsie was born on September 28, 1919 in Kaylor, PA to Stanley and Pearle Bakewell. She grew up with three siblings; Edith Kaufman living in The Villages, FL, Doris Matthews and Edward Bakewell.

Elsie and Don Gault were married on February 18, 1942 in Wellsburg, WV. They had two daughters, Lana and Laurie and celebrated nearly 71 years together before Don passed away in November, 2012. They were committed Christians and were always active in their home congregations--Elsie by teaching Sunday school, serving on altar guild and women's ministries; Don by serving on church councils and special events committees. They loved to work in the flower beds on the church properties.

Over the years Don and Elsie invested in and followed their daughters' families wherever they lived.  While visiting Lana in southern CA in the mid-1970's, they purchased a home in Mission Viejo and later moved there after Don retired. In 1987, when Laurie's family was living in Monterey, CA, Don and Elsie moved to be near them. They spent the next nearly 20 years living in the Monterey area before relocating to Pensacola to be near Lana and her family.

Elsie's greatest gifts were her loving kindness and her care for her family, friends and literally anyone she met. Her smile and her generous, loving hugs were infectious and complimented Don's clever sense of humor. They made friends easily and people naturally wanted to share in their lives.Words cannot adequately describe the impact Elsie made on the people in her life, but her great-granddaughter, Alisia may have come close when she said "Not one soul who met her walked away the same. She loved Jesus and had such a gentle soul."

Elsie and Don's family is their legacy, as demonstrated by its high priority in their lives. They leave two daughters; Lana Barker of Pensacola and Laurie Armstrong (Michael) of Roseburg, OR; four grandchildren; Wendy Paull (Bryan) of Pensacola, Bob Barker (Angi) of Delaware, Matthew Armstrong of Monterey, CA and Meredith Armstrong of Roseburg, OR; seven great-grandchildren ; Alisia Dufrene (Dustin) of Pensacola, Christopher Jensen (Christy) of Pensacola, Jeff, Dan and Sarah Barker of Delaware and Evan and Eden Armstrong of Roseburg; four great-great-grandchildren ; Tyler, Lily and Lucien Dufrene and Parker Jensen of Pensacola.

There will be a celebration of Elsie's life 2:00pm on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at Solomon's Porch Church in Pensacola. The family requests that loved ones and friends would pay tribute to Elsie by sharing their memories at the service or in writing by sending to pensaquilts@gmail.com . Elsie's ashes will be interred in El Carmelo Cemetery in Pacific Grove, CA, alongside Don's and her mother's, overlooking the beautiful Monterey Bay.

"We thank the Lord for blessing our lives with her presence and

love, that she had no pain or suffering but just went with Him, and

for the certain hope of seeing Elsie and Don again."

Condolences may also be placed at harpermorrismemorialchapel.com