• Part 1 •
"Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend." --- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Gayle Foret was my faithful friend, and before that, my mother's. And it all began with the Bowling Green Country Fare cookbook. Momma (Margie Nell Ellzey) and Gayle were Chairman and Co-Chairman. The intensive, year-long project sparked a friendship that would far outlast it. From the get-go, the two were an unlikely pair --- a Franklinton native and a New Orleans lady. And Gayle was more than ten years Momma's junior. Yet, the two fit hand in glove. Tennessee Williams described it best, "Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose." And so, it was.
Born in 1936, the only child of August W. "Jack" and Helen B. Walsdorf of New Orleans, Gayle was a New Orleans lady, through and through. One of her favorite gifts from me - she perseverated on it - was a pocket-size book by Frank Schneider entitled, "Gawd, I Love New Orleans." It sounded best when Ms. Gayle said it. A quintessential New Orleanian, after graduation from Warren Easton High School, she matriculated at Louisiana State University, earning a bachelor's degree in education.
And in 1958 Gayle wed Dr. Gerald Foret - a match made in heaven. A 1957 graduate of LSU, he hailed from Ville Platte in Evangeline Parish. The two were ardent Tiger fans and eventual benefactors, providing generous endowments to the university. And they introduced me to their alma mater. How fondly I recall the memorable trips my parents and I took, during my youth, to Tiger Stadium with the Forets in their fire engine red Ford van. And the tailgating, oh my.
Digressing, what my daughter remembers best is the purple section, where the Forets had season football tickets. Always generous, Ms. Gayle gifted them to us in September of 1998 when Betsy was six -- her inaugural visit to Tiger stadium. I overheard Rodney explaining to our only child that future seating would be down in the bowl. He also had to do some explaining to Judge James Burton Foret, who informed, "You're in my brother's seats." After convincing him that we were legitimate ticketholders, Rodney spent the rest of the night chatting with his wife Mary who, just like her sister-in-law Gayle, came to adore him.
Back to the Forets' early married life, Gayle was a social worker in New Orleans before they moved to Lafayette. They then relocated to Natchez, Mississippi, followed by Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before settling in Franklinton. Here, Dr. Gerry and Gayle Foret founded the Family Medical Clinic in 1968. There, Gayle worked by her husband's side as office manager for thirty-two years. All that excellent medical care Family Medical provided, Gayle had a hand in. She was not only industrious but also brilliant, and for most of her life indefatigable.
Gayle was vivacious. As her dear friend Louise Fisher told me, "She was so full of life." Serving as Cub Scout leader and chairing committees at Bowling Green School, Gayle was the devoted mother of sons Gerald and Chris who grew up in Franklinton and who, like their father before them, became physicians. In the 1970s, with our mothers spending a titanic amount of time together, the Forets' youngest son Chris, four years my junior and the closest I would ever come to a little brother, and I would wander to Mr. J. U. Sylvest's barn, where our mothers were diligently working on the fair float for the Franklinton Woman's Club, to which both belonged. With a strong faith, Gayle was also active in Centenary Methodist Church, and she contributed to civic affairs.
Of course, Dr. Gerry was my father's friend and Gayle my mother's, but my dad (Col. (Ret.) Cecil Ellzey), who favored few, adored her. And not only did Gayle make him a fruitcake every Christmas, but she was his military friend Charlie Bourgeois's cousin. That unexpected connection came to light one night at the dinner table. Ms. Gayle got so tickled; her laugh reverberates, still. Her friendship with my folks was perennial.
And she introduced them to Carnival - her passion. Every Mardi Gras season, an entourage from Franklinton descended on Gayle's beloved parents' home on Iberville Street to watch the Krewe of Carrollton which back then rolled on Sunday in Mid-City. And she and Dr. Gerry also hosted a parade-watching party, same place, subsequent weekend, for Endymion. Our daughter Betsy has fond memories of being with the Forets' granddaughter Ashley, daughter of Dr. Chris and Julie Foret, for Carnival as a child. Gracious Gayle welcomed everyone - she loved Mardi Gras.
Yet most of all, she loved her family and friends. And the beauty parlor. So, my first task, when Betsy moved to Boston, was securing a local hairdresser. A stone's throw from Betsy's building, which is crucial with the snow, I found Melyssa before the movers had finished unloading - a nod to Ms. Gayle. Outings and gatherings often ran late in no small part because she was getting her hair done. That came first. Gayle informed her good friend Pat Berthelot, when she first moved to town, that hair was a priority.
Charming, Gayle was the consummate card player, from bridge to bourree. In recent years, I relished sitting at the bridge table with her, at Franklinton friends' homes, including her own. It was there that she - aided and abetted by chums Marilyn Richardson and Nancy Richardson - attempted to teach me hand and foot, kindly devoting an entire afternoon to the cause after a long lunch at Café Bouchee. While their effort was in vain - that game has a number of nuances - we had much fun. A mandate with Ms. Gayle.
And without fail, she took my hand.
•Stay tuned for the conclusion of my remembrance of faithful friend, Gayle Walsdorf Foret.
