Obituary: Gail Marsha (Lawrenz) Engler

CHILTON - Gail Marsha (Lawrenz) Engler, age 74, of Chilton, Wis., was born into eternal life Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

Gail was born March 18, 1937, daughter of the late Florence (Lucht) Lawrenz Schroeder and Royal H. Lawrenz, in South Milwaukee, and lived for a short time in Racine, before moving to Shorewood Hills in Madison. Gail was a 1955 Madison West High School graduate where she was active in leadership roles including Student Council as vice president, Girl Scouts, potlucks, church groups and the debate team. She went on to graduate from UW-Madison in 1959 with a major in history and English and a minor in Spanish. Her first job was as a teacher at Central High School in Madison.

She married William Engler Jr. on Aug. 29, 1959. Gail and Bill moved to Chilton, in 1961, where her husband began his legal career while Gail became a homemaker raising six children. Inspired by her own high school AFS (American Field Service) experience in Finland, Gail was an integral part of initiating the first AFS chapter in Chilton in 1961, a program that is still going strong today. In 1984, Gail joined P.E.O., Chapter AT, a favorite organization of her mother's, where women celebrate the advancement of women, educating through scholarships, grants, awards, loans and stewardship of Cottey College, as well as motivating women to achieve their highest aspirations. Gail was instrumental in the development and building of the Kaytee Avian Education Center in 1995. She was on the board of directors of the Chilton Camp Fire Girls and the North Eastern Wisconsin Land Trust. Gail also was a member of the Grants' Committee for both the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley, Region, Inc. and of the Chilton Area Community Foundation. Gail was selected as Chilton's "Distinguished Citizen of the Year" in 1982.

Gail was a member of Good Shepherd Parish (formerly St. Mary's). She shared her love of teaching history and her knowledge of her Catholic faith by serving as a CCD high school religious education teacher for many years. Her love of the performing arts and her interest in student development, led Gail and Bill to be major contributors to the Engler Center for Performing Arts, one of the finest performing arts' facilities in the area.