Gail (Wagner) Mau, 84, of Branford passed away on Sept. 12 after a long illness. She was born in Temple City, California, the daughter of the late Lester Wagner and Margaret (Wagner) Wetmore. She attended UCLA, Santa Barbara before moving to Branford in the early 1960s when her former husband Jim accepted a teaching position at Yale. While the marriage did not last, her friendship with Jim and love of Branford and Haycock Point endured.

Gail spent her career as an executive assistant for non-profit agencies serving people with differing abilities, initially with the SARAH family of agencies and eventually retiring from Mosaic of Connecticut. She was a skilled knitter, weaver, and crocheter and was an early member of the Bittersweet Farm Artisans Collective in Branford. She was a friend of Bill for over 40 years. She explored the world through travel and books.

Gail is survived by her loving partner of 26 years, Pat Bourne; her son Matthew Mau, his wife Alicia, and her beloved granddaughter Maya of Guilford; her son Michael Mau of Orlando, Florida; her ex-husband Jim Mau and his wife Susan of Tallahassee, Florida and Guilford; her sister Brenda Payton and her husband Ed of Paso Robles, California. She was blessed to count the Bourne family and extended Mau family as her own. During her time at SARAH, she developed a close friendship with the Executive Director, Rich Carman, and his wife Barb which has remained for over 40 years. She also leaves a large circle of nieces, nephews, family, and friends who will miss her dearly.

Funeral arrangements are private. Her family wishes to thank everyone at the Smilow Cancer Center for their skilled cancer treatment and most especially the care partners, nurses and staff at Artis Memory Care Center for their care, compassion and support to Gail and her family as we journeyed through the diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia.

Donations in Gail’s memory can be made to SARAH, Inc. (sarah-inc.org) or to the James Blackstone Memorial Library in Branford.

Online memorial and guestbook can be seen at www.wsclancy.com.