Gail Stenberg

Gail Stenberg passed away July 12, 2023, in the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Chip Dennedy of Albuquerque, NM.  She was being cared for by them with the great help of Bosque Trails Hospice and a very attentive sheltie named Tungsten.

Gail was born in Whitehall, Wisconsin and grew up on a family farm outside of Blair, Wisconsin.  She moved to Norfolk, Virginia in 1964 where she began working at Old Dominion University (ODU).  During her more than thirty years at the university, she made many friends and housed many students, who were mostly international. She enjoyed learning about them, their countries and customs.  And she loved introducing them to her world.  As someone who could type over 120 words per minute, she typed many papers, dissertations, books and reports for students and faculty.  In 1994, after many years of working and going to school, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from ODU. 

Gail was a member of Hampton Roads Sons of Norway where she made many life-long friends.  One of her other great passions was ODU Women’s basketball; “Go Big Blue!”  She was a devoted fan and recruited many others.

First Lutheran Church was a keystone in her life providing her spirituality, friendship and many opportunities to affect change in her community.  Gail was a volunteer, an organizer, a protester.  She could often be found standing on Hampton Boulevard with a Black Lives Matter sign in one hand and waving at cars with the other.

Gail loved reading, traveling, learning, helping others, and watching all the activity on the creek across from her house.

Gail is survived by her daughter, Ann Dennedy (Chip), and their children, Wesley, Pete (Jennifer) and Brian, her sister Audrey Halverson (Gordon) as well as nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur Oscar Stenberg and Mildred Evelyn Stenberg (Simenson), her sister Marian Lanier and her brother Warren Stenberg.

Her final resting place will be at Fagernes Lutheran Church, Blair, WI, next to her mother and father. 

Remembrance of her can be made by donations to Fagernes Lutheran Church, Box 401, Blair, WI 54616.