Ada Gayle Wyld

Hebrews 13:5 - “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

Ada Gayle Wyld passed away peacefully on August 6, 2024, at the age of 87. She was grateful to God for the wonderful life she lived. Gayle would tell everyone she met that she was a “Strong Norwegian Woman,” proud of her heritage on the farm and the life she lived well beyond the dreams of her youth. Hers was indeed a life well-lived! 

She was born Ada Gayle Carlson to Nora Ruby Carlson and Carl Anton Carlson in a two-room farmhouse in Cranfills Gap, Texas, on September 5th, 1936. She worked hard alongside her parents on the family farm and graduated with classmates she remained friends with for life from Cranfills Gap High in 1955. Gayle left the farm to go to college to become a teacher at the now University of North Texas, where she early on met the love of her life, Barry Keith Wyld. They were both proud that they supported themselves and graduated college in 3 years. True to their promise to their parents, they did not get married before graduating. However, just a day after graduating from North Texas, they were married on August 23rd, 1958, in Cranfills Gap. 

Barry and Gayle made their home in Irving, Texas, from 1958 until 2009, where Gayle taught 4th grade at Farine Elementary for 33 consecutive years. She retired from teaching to care for her mother, Ruby, for a number of years before her passing. Then, when Barry began to show signs of Alzheimer’s in 2009, they moved to Hammond, Louisiana, to be near their family. And even though Barry lived his last several years in assisted living, where she was still his constant. In all, they were blessed with 59 years of marriage before Barry passed in 2018. Gayle lived in their home until 2022, when she moved to Summerfield Assisted Living after a serious auto accident. All of us in the Wyld family appreciate the good care provided for her there by the caring staff, along with her hospice nurse, Linda, especially in her last weeks. 

Gayle had a small family, but she cherished a wide circle of friends, both near and far. She kept in touch with lifelong friends from Cranfills Gap and Irving throughout her life. Gayle is survived by her son, David Wyld, and his wife, Karla. She is also survived by two grandsons, Spencer and Carson Wyld. She also loved Spencer’s wife, Macey Reed Wyld, and Carson’s wife, Cayla Leto Wyld, as her granddaughters. She was immensely proud of the fine young men and women that they are and the wonderful things that they are doing with their lives. Being an only child, Gayle considered her cousins, Shirley Johnson, Nellie Baldwin, and Mary Hastings, as her sisters, and her brother-in-law, Russ Siemantel, as her brother. She also loved her dog, Georgie, as the two of them rescued each other during the pandemic of 2020. 

Gayle was a lifelong Lutheran who walked by faith. A private memorial service in her honor will be conducted in the near future. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Rock Church Fund, P.O. Box 148, Cranfills Gap, Texas 76637.