When I think of Gayle I think of Proverbs 18:22 "The man who finds a wife finds a great treasure and he receives favor from the Lord. We talked many times of being on a great adventure together walking through life with Jesus Christ our Lord".

Gayle's adventure began in Detroit Michigan. Her parents were Henry and Joy Winters. Gayle had two younger sisters, Norine Winters and Christine (Winters) Upton. During her childhood, her family moved to New Jersey, Virginia, and then eventually settled in San Jose, California for her senior year of high school. It was during this final year of high school that she surrendered her life, making Jesus her Lord and Savior at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Her hunger to know more of Jesus and questions surrounding her new found faith opened the door to be discipled through the Navigator college ministry. For the next 10 years she taught elementary classes with the Berryessa School disctrict in San Jose, California.

Gayle and I met at a Navigator leadership Bible study. We were married during my first year of teaching, on December 27, 1975. The following year we accepted an invitation by Wycliffe Bible Translators, to be teachers at Faith Academy in the Philippines. We flew out of LAX July 4, 1976; watching the fireworks display from the airplane window. Our great adventure together had begun: a new country, a new ministry and a new marriage.

Christy, our daughter, came to our family in our fourth year at Faith. After a year furlough back in the US, we returned again to teach at Faith. During that second term, God opened the door to adopt Joel. After Joel's graduation from Faith Academy we returned to the US, having completed 23 years of service with Wycliffe Bible Translators at Faith.

The next phase of our adventure lead us back to my hometown of Genoa, where we accepted an invitation to serve with Pastors' Jim and Ruth Freund, at the Genoa Foursquare Church. It was here that Gayle blossomed in pastoral ministry. Gayle would eventually lead 17 Women's Retreats; touching countless lives with a listening ear and warring in the spirit for salvations. We stepped away from that position with Pastor Jim's retirement, bringing to a close his 41 years of ministry in Genoa community.

Our great adventure together ended as Gayle had a heart attack, as we were leaving the house for church, August 23, 2020.

Now the New Great Adventure has begun in the glorious presence of the Lord; "For to be absent from the body for a disciple of Christ, is to be in His glorious presence".  I have been asking the Lord for a vision of Gayle now; enjoying what she had only dreamed of here on Earth. I know I will be joined with her again, and with all my family in Christ that are also enjoying what the Lord Jesus has prepared for us in our heavenly Father's house.

Visitation will be on Thursday, August 27th from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM at the Christ Community Church, 2350 Pride Avenue, DeKalb, IL. with the funeral service following at 1:30 PM.  Interment will be at the Genoa Cemetery.

Arrangements were completed by the Slater-Butala Funeral Home, Genoa, IL.  To sign the online guest book or write a special memory, go to www.ButalaFuneralHomes.com