Gayle Schneider; colleague, friend, and program support supervisor in our department, passed away on Tuesday, February 18. As many of you know she was battling cancer, yet she continued to work until just weeks prior to her death. This is a testament to the connection she felt with all of us and how being part of Harborview Medical Center was central to her well-being. Per her wishes, she died peacefully at home with family present.

Gayle joined the department in 1994 as a temporary employee and based on her excellent work and love of HMC and the department, remained and became the coordinator of the medical student clerkship and in this role worked with faculty and staff across the WWAMI region. In 2019, Gayle received the UW School of Medicine Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Department’s Exceptional Staff Award for her many years of dedicated and exceptional work.

Many attending psychiatrists across the department will know Gayle most in her role of many years coordinating the weeknight on-call schedule. For those here in the 1990s, Gayle also played key roles in the preparation and submission of grant proposals and the review of journal manuscripts, back in the days when proposals were submitted in hard copy. In her life outside of work, Gayle was a Master Gardner for over twenty years and raised rescue rabbits. She also was a regular volunteer at the Seattle Children’s Stanley Stamm Summer Camp, which provided opportunities for over a hundred children living with complex medical conditions to have the experience of a week-long summer camp with activities like fishing and horseback riding. Gayle had a great sense of humor and enjoyed decorating the work environment and bringing a laugh and smile to those who had the pleasure of working with her. She will be greatly missed. We will pass along information on memorial/celebration of life events as her family shares these with us.