WESTBROOK – Gail S. Larsen, LADC, born Dec. 27, 1947, of Westbrook, passed away peacefully at her sister’s home in Portland, on May 10, 2022, after her years long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

In her early years Gail struggled with addiction, as so many people do. Eventually she tired of the direction her life was heading and made the decision to get sober – and she did. Gail could do anything she set her mind to. She worked it: she worked AA and Al-anon, she worked her program, and then she moved on to help others work theirs. Gail dedicated the rest of her life to helping others find their way to sobriety. She worked at Evodia House, a Catholic Charities organization, for many years and from there moved on to Crossroads for Women from which she retired in April 2018.

She loved her birds: the cockatiels, the African grays, the cockatoo, the conures. For Gail, the most difficult part of her illness was giving up all of the animals she loved so much.

Gail was a feeder: she never met an animal she didn’t think needed to be fed. When she lived in her home in Windham she fed everything from birds and squirrels to foxes and skunks; she bought them muffins and made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Gail would buy turkeys after Thanksgiving and cook them for “the critters”! When she moved into an apartment in Westbrook, she could no longer feed the critters so she began feeding her neighbors!

Gail’s generosity did not end with her death: her final act of giving was made by donating her body to research at the University of New England. Gail will be remembered by many as a strong, determined, and independent woman. She will be missed by all whose lives she touched.

If you would like honor Gail’s memory, you might do so by making a contribution in her name to: Seymour Pet Bird Refuge, 204 Gray Road, Cumberland Center, ME 04021.

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