“Gay died.” That is the obituary that she believed most adequate. Yet, for those of us blessed with Mary Gabrielle Soule Duncan as part of our lives, we have known her as a curator of brilliant stories, a light in our own journeys, a whistling song to enrich our days. It is a privilege to share—even in this abridged format—the storied legacy and joy that we still carry forward in our hearts in the wake of her passing on June 2, 2026.

The tale of our beloved matriarch—Momma, Gay, Sis, Aunt Gay Gay, Grandmama, Nanamama, Baba, Mrs. Duncan, The Lady Who Lived in the Lockers at Catholic High--began May 23, 1937, in Laurel, Mississippi, with her parents William Latten Soule and Mary Mosely Oliver Soule. The eldest of six children, she proudly assumed the role of matriarch and de facto docent of Soule stories and histories, generations past and present. She is an alumna of  Pensacola Catholic High School. A 1957 graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, she soon married Donald Gene Duncan, a naval officer and submariner. Together, they raised three children while sharing a proud life of service at various naval stations and assignments, including Charleston, Key West, and the University of South Carolina. She began her career in journalism for the Columbia Record in South Carolina at the news desk, where she would win awards for her coverage of Hurricane Camille on the Gulf Coast for a sister newspaper. She began working at the Pensacola News Journal at the copy desk in 1971, where she would soon blaze a trail as one of Gannett’s first female managing editors until her retirement. Never one to sit still, she then went on to serve the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese as a Director of Development and as a speech writer and travel coordinator to U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins. She was also a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.

Her chapters were set primarily along Pensacola Bay with roots beginning in her early days at Seaweed Beach just east of Gulf Breeze, a stint during which she and her younger brother would trek to St. Michael’s School in Pensacola via boat after a ship took out their bridge route following a storm. She fondly shared reflections on the “diamond days” set along the Bayshore at the family home at Seamarge. The homes where she later lived in Warrington were a testament to a creative life well-lived: art of all kinds and coastal marine motifs adorned the walls; her collection of photographs and heirloom artifacts cultivated opportunities to share lore of our ancestors with guests. The scents of fresh Gulf seafood, her mother’s mint, and flowers in her garden swirled through open windows. The clink of ice cubes for two fingers of bourbon or a very dirty martini punctuated the sounds of laughter from card games and catching up with her “dear hearts,” notably Lee R. Hual and Marcia “Muffin” Lee Oliver or the late Ann Lamar ‘DeeDee’ Switzer Reilly and Etheldreda “Dreda” Watson Grimes, with background music of Jimmy Buffett and Gay whistling along with the birds. Gay was notoriously strict with her Scrabble rules, specifically that any word played must be one the player could define and spell without looking them up. When that rule was enforced in her later years, she confidently maintained the plausible deniability that she was not “flipping the bird” at the violator; she was simply pointing.

A true journalist and novelist at heart, she was described lovingly as a “people collector” because Gay made everyone feel like their stories mattered to her as if they were her own. She relished opportunities to gather and tend to connections across the branches of five generations of Soules, outlaws and in-laws, cherished lifelong friends, and various vagabonds across the years. When Gay believed in someone and their potential, it felt like everything became possible because her support would never waver. The fighting spirit she instilled in all of us propels through the densest fog and most daunting adversity; she showed us what it looked like to be inimitable. And now she has her rest while her spirit continues in our hearts, the legacy of which she was most proud.

Gay is preceded in death by her parents, the father of her children, brothers William Latten Soule, Jr. and Charles Mosely Oliver Soule, and sister Jean Perry ‘Bunny’ Soule Gamble. She is survived by an expansive multi-generational family: daughter Mary Oliver ‘Molly’ Duncan Harper Maloney and son-in law Joseph Allen Maloney; daughter Gabrielle Perry Duncan Merritt and son-in-law Milton Edmund Clark Merritt, Jr.; son Donald Gene Duncan, Jr. and daughter-in-law Debbie Hawkins Duncan; her sister Lucinda Saxton Soule Davis and brother-in-law Tommy Davis, brother John Fayette Soule and sister-in-law Susan Wood Soule, sisters-in-law Peggy Meyer Soule and Mary Jane Rocheblave Soule; brother-in-law Bill Gamble; grandchildren John Perry (Tara) Harper, Toni Marie Duncan, Michael Soule (Carly) Harper, Sarah Logan Harper (Roy) Crutchfield, Marjorie Jane Merritt (Bryan) Paul, Gabrielle Soule Merritt (Thomas) McVoy, Gregory Tyler Duncan, Steven Taylor Duncan, Milton Edmund Clark (Julianna) Merritt, III; great-grandchildren Dayon Michael, Josiah Soule, Bryanna May, Jameson David, Matthew Charles, Hayden Aryanna, Thomas Vann, Julia Marie, William ‘Willie’ Chastain, Fletcher Soule, Rose Lynn, and Merritt Anne. The multitude of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins; firsts, seconds, thirds; once-, twice-, or three-times removed are among her surviving loved ones; she could recall each by full birth name and sing to or with them all.

The family would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to her compassionate and long-time caregivers for their support in-home--especially Dannita Bright and Lorraine Kittrell--and the nurses with Vitas Hospice and the rehabilitation centers during her treatments and recovery. In her later years, Gay’s time—busy and quiet--spent with your care and dedicated companionship was made brighter and more comfortable.

A memorial mass and service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, June 12, 2026, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Pensacola. Following interment at Holy Cross Cemetery, family and friends are invited to a celebration of her incredible life and accomplishments at Apple Annie’s inside Seville Quarter.