Priscilla Gail Mitchell Gilbert was born on May 16, 1938 to Charles and Helen Mitchell of Troy, NY in the same hospital as former Gov. Jay Hammond. She was raised in Loudonville, New York and attended an all-girls elementary and high school where she was elected class secretary. She graduated in 1961 from the New York State Teachers College in Plattsburg.

From an early age, she was intrigued with Alaska, from listening to stories of her two aunts that travelled to Nushagak in 1911 and worked as a teacher and nurse for a year. She knew she wanted to find her way to Alaska to experience some of the adventures she heard about. Her adventures began in 1962 when she and a girlfriend drove from upstate New York to Alaska, stopping along the way at as many of the national parks as they could. Shortly after arriving in Anchorage she landed a first grade teaching job. She survived the Good Friday Earthquake in Anchorage of 1964, but thought twice about staying in Anchorage. On Friday the 13th of February 1965 she was introduced to her future husband Bruce Gilbert, who was also teaching in the Anchorage area. Bruce and Gail shared a common goal of creating their own Alaskan adventures and after a whirlwind courtship, they were married six months and one day after they met, at a church in Loundonville, New York on Aug. 14, 1965. Bruce had been offered a job teaching seventh grade in Haines and when they arrived in Aug. 1965, she was quickly hired to be the first kindergarten teacher in Haines where she had to manage 42 students. She taught for four years until Glenda was born in 1969 and she and Bruce started Haines Home Building Supply. During her 54 years as a resident of Haines, Gail volunteered countless hours at the Haines Presbyterian Church as an elder and singing in the church choir, as well as the Haines Borough Public Library board of directors and Haines Woman's Club. She was an active part of all the businesses that Bruce started including Panhandle Produce and the Silver Eagle Transport, but she really loved working the sales counter at Haines Home Building Supply. She was an avid knitter, gardener and seamstress. However, her most favorite hobby was dog mushing which she turned into a year-round activity by keeping the dogs and herself fit for the winter season, with weekly hikes up at the pass or other wilderness areas. After Glenda and Scott graduated from high school, she filled the void with lots of barking huskies who needed a good home after retiring from racing the Yukon Quest or Iditarod. She also enjoyed keeping track of the top mushers out on the trail and visited Whitehorse and Nome on occasion to be a part of the starting or finish line festivities. She took a number of dog mushing adventures with Margaret Piggott, Jim Stanford, Chris Turner and others to all corners of the Yukon and Northern Alaska, and no matter how cold or snowy it was, she delighted in being outside. Later, as Parkinson's disease slowly took its toll on her mind and body, she could still be seen bundled up in her wheelchair being pushed along by one of her caregivers...always with a smile on her face. It seemed that no inclement weather would stop her from getting outside to enjoy what Alaska had to offer, and she lived fully every day. Until her last days, she lived life the way she wanted, full of adventure, passion and a deep love for family and community.

Gail is preceded in death by her husband of 52 years Bruce Gilbert, mother Helen Bold, father Charles Mitchell and huskies: Kobuk, Chilkoot, Pepsi, Tensi, Redford, Cruise, Jackie etc. She is survived by her brother Charles L. Mitchell, daughter Glenda Gilbert (Donald Narum) and son Scott Gilbert (Deborah Read) and granddaughter Anna Gilbert, as well as nephews Jeff and Andrew Mitchell and numerous Gilbert relatives.