Gayle Catherine Stachula Noah
June 3, 1949 - July 15, 2026
It is with profound sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our vibrant and beautiful mother, Gayle Catherine Noah (Stachula), on July 15th, 2026, with her family by her side at of age of 77.
Raised in Paramus, New Jersey, she was the daughter of William & Helena Stachula. After graduating high school, Gayle attended Douglas College in N.J., then got her Master's degree in deaf education in California. Her first job after graduating was in response to a job advert in a New Jersey newspaper, when she decided to adventure to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, as the first teacher of the deaf. Not long after her arrival, she fell head over heels with the love of her life, John, and they married in June of 1977. That love continued to grow with the birth of their three children, William, Elizabeth and Rachael.
After her first job in deaf education, she went on to teach throughout the tri-county in speech and language for many years. She settled at Maple Grove Education Center, where she shared a strong bond with her fellow teachers and beloved students until her retirement in 2017.
Gayle was a devoted wife, mother, sister, friend, grandmother, and teacher, who led with kindness and always put others first. Her bright smile and contagious laugh could be felt no matter where she was. She lived her life with optimism and love for everyone she encountered.
Gayle is survived by her loving husband John, son William, daughters Elizabeth (Vanja) and Rachael (Steven), step-daughter Lisa (Mark), grandchildren Nathan, Reid, Mila, Yana and Finley, sisters Carolyn (Jack) and Barbara (Eric), as well as lifetime childhood friends Linda (Rob) and Betsy (John), her many cousins and amazing friends.
Cremation has taken place at Huskilson's Funeral Home in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, with an internment at a later date.
We would like to extend a special thank you to the team at the Yarmouth Emergency Department for the incredible and compassionate care they provided to our mom, especially Dr. Devon Long and Dr. Prem Gandham.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation or The Canadian Cancer Society.
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From Betsy Hays:
My friend Gayle Stachula Noah made everything look easy, from playing piano, acing every course she ever took, to mastering American Sign Language (ASL) and getting two higher degrees, to driving cross-country for grad school and later to Nova Scotia in an old Volvo 1800 series, to meeting, marrying and helping her husband John Noah build their beautiful log home and family, to raising three wonderful children and doting on three adorable grandchildren, to maintaining longstanding friendships as well as new ones, to overcoming cancer, participating in fundraising races and facing life’s hardships with grace and grit.
In recent years Gayle devoted herself to helping her husband of almost 50 years navigate the challenges of Parkinson’s. Gayle’s spiritual life was informed by her Catholic background, which she kept close to her heart throughout her entire life. Gayle was often the smartest, most unassuming intellect in the room (her HS Spanish teacher was flabbergasted that Gayle became fluent within her first few months of studying the language, and she won several of the senior awards in different subjects for outstanding student achievement). She had so many talents: learning and teaching ASL and later other subjects and special classes for children with learning disabilities, music (she could sit down at the piano and compose on the spot), dancing, ice skating, quilting, cooking, home décor, bargain hunting at Frenchie’s, parenting with love and patience, and mentoring students for decades.
Gayle was a loving daughter, wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, cousin, aunt, sister and friend. She had a special gift for friendship, of whom she had many. To me, she was a lifelong cherished friend since we first met in 2nd grade, with whom I shared many adventures, milestones, sorrows and mostly, joys and laughter.
Everyone who knew her was lucky. I know I was.
While our lives took different paths: Gayle moved to NS in the mid-70s to teach, met and married John D. Noah, with whom she built a lovely log home, enjoyed a long and devoted marriage, raised a beautiful family and taught in the school system for over 40 years. I stayed in NJ, got my degree in English, co-founded and ran a communications consulting business and in mid-life, married musician/teacher John Gatti and became a stepmother to his two sons, and now grand- and great-grandmother. All along, we stayed in close touch, and both traveled back and forth from NJ to NS many times over the years. As the seasons came and went, we forged bonds that grew stronger and sweeter over our long friendship.
I was beyond fortunate to have Gayle, John and their children Bill, Liz and Rachael and their husbands and children as honorary family and pray that the countless memories of so many good times will help us all endure the weight of not having her lovely presence in our everyday lives. We will miss her dearly, be thankful for the time we had together and always think of her, especially during Yankee games, when we would often text each other, exulting or bemoaning the score. May she sleep in heavenly peace and know how much she was cherished.
https://www.huskilson.net/obituaries/Gayle-Catherine-Noah?obId=49041609