Gail Y Rutz

Jul 15, 1955 -

Nov 20, 2024

Gail Rutz ran through the gates of heaven on the morning of Nov. 20, 2024 singing "Alleluia! Alleluia!"

Born Gail Yvonne Stewart in Marietta, Ga. on July 15, 1955, she spent her childhood in Grandview, Mo. and enrolled at Missouri Southern State to study Speech and Theatre where she was active in the Baptist Student Union.

In the 1970s, Gail performed coast-to-coast with Covenant Players, a Christian theatre group, which also took her abroad to the Korean DMZ, Japan, and Canada. In 1981, she eloped in Markham, Ontario with a fellow actor and tulips from a church garden.

Moving to Juneau, Alaska in 1981, she worked for the State of Alaska, boasting over a hundred words per minute on an IBM display writer. She was actively involved in both the Douglas Methodist Church and First Baptist Church of Juneau.

In 1988, Gail carried her first child, Cody, to term. She was not able to watch Cody grow up, but he was never forgotten.

In 1991, Eagle River, Alaska became home. She became active in the children's ministry at Parkside Church in Anchorage. She worked with DNR and helped set up the Alaska Commission on Aging. In 1994 her daughter was born and Gail started working with the Anchorage School District; volunteering at Birchwood ABC, as a librarian for Aquarian Charter, and becoming the Career Resource Advisor for West Anchorage High School until the position was eliminated.

Gail never stopped praying or giving to her communities. Always quick to answer her phone, advocate for neighbors, and staying engaged with local politics.

She is preceded by her father, John Stewart; her mother, Carmyn Raymond Holzer; and her son, Cody Rutz. She will be waiting for her sisters, Dena Richardson and Bonnie Stamos; her husband, Chris Rutz; and her daughter, Johna Rutz, to join her someday, but not anytime soon.

Please join us at Community Covenant Church in Eagle River on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 at 3 p.m. to celebrate stories from her life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Anchorage Library Foundation in her memory.