Gail Marie Schebella Alford

Gail Marie Schebella Alford, 84, of Onaway, died Friday, January 18, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Gail was born on December 19, 1934, to Minnie Mae Lincoln Schebella and Benjamin Schebella of Onaway. After she graduated from Onaway High School, Gail was married to Ralph Alford Sr. Due to his military career they lived in various places in Alabama, Texas and Florida. They had one daughter, Kim Alford Coe, and two sons, Benjamin Alford and Ralph Alford Jr. After Gail and Ralph Sr. were divorced, Gail then moved back to Onaway and had a daughter, Melanie Alford Hayes.

Gail had many jobs, as mother, homemaker, cook, waitress and thrift shop clerk. She worked for many years in Onaway for the Presque Isle County Council on Aging as a Meals On Wheels driver, often serving people younger than she was. Her favorite activities were to listen to Marty Robbins songs, play the accordion, do crosswords, drive the Black River Road to Cheboygan or Rogers City and spend the day shopping for earrings. After her father died Gail moved to Carbondale, Illinois to live with her daughter. Gail succeeded in quitting smoking after a stroke in 2013, and battled rheumatoid arthritis for the rest of her life.

G

ail leaves behind a sister, Yvonne Walsh of Big Rapids; a brother, Gary Schebella of Virginia; a daughter, Kim Alford Coe of Mechanicsville, Virginia; a son, Ralph Alford and his wife Patricia of Onaway; a son, Ben Alford and his wife Lennae of Dunellon, Florida; a daughter, Melanie Alford Hayes and her husband Jim of Carbondale, Illinois; three grandchildren, Ivy Coburn and her husband Werner of Mechanicsville, Virginia, Hamby Alford of Gillette, Wisconsin and Ben Storm of Florida; four great-grandchildren, Aurora, Cadence, Raif and Buddy; and many nieces and nephews. 

Gail was preceded in death by her mother, Minnie; her father, Ben; her husband, Ralph Sr.; and two brothers who died at birth, Ben and Robert.
Funeral arrangements were made through Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale, Illinois. A life ceremony will be held later this year.