ROCHELE — Gay Marie (Strom) Slack, 59, went to be with her Lord and Savior Aug. 28, 2018 at Serenity Hospice in Oregon from Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer.
Spending the last five years trying to figure out what was causing severe health issues ‘mystery disease’, her beloved husband sacrificed work, sleep and invested all his energy into caring for Gay Marie. After numerous doctors and specialist, in May 2018, the worse fear was confirmed by UW Madison. Gay was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer-the silent killer.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Raymond and Lavonne Strom. Her hobbies included spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren, horseback riding and swimming.
Gay married the love of her life, Ron Slack, in 1975. They shared 43 years together.
Gay is survived by her husband, Ron, of Rockford; children, Chad (Julie) Slack of Rochelle, and Jessica Ross of Byron; grandchildren, Mallory Ann Dewar of Sydney, Australia, Payton, Ronald ‘Babes’ and Emma Rose Slack and Jacob ‘Irv’, Jarett ‘Bear’, and Jace ‘Ernie’ Ross; her mother, Lavonne Strom of Rochelle; sisters, Cheryle (Mike) Zurbuch of Rochelle, and Laurie Hanson of Rochelle; brothers, Mike (Juana) Strom of Oregon, and Mark Strom of Rochelle; sister-in-laws, Shirley (Wayne) Pellitier, and Carol (Carl) Hale both of Rochelle; brother-in-laws, Tom (Susan) Slack of Pennsylvania, and the late John (Kathy) Slack of Rockford; sister-in-law and life-long friend Cherie Slack of Oregon; and many nieces and nephews
She was predeceased by her father Ray Strom and brother Randy Strom.
The family would like to say a special thank you to Cheryle and Mike Zurbuch, Vanessa and Joe Broullard, Lavonne Strom, Annette Mickley and Kristal Taber that went above and beyond during the final weeks.
The memorial service will be held on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. at Rochelle United Methodist Church.