Gail Marie Gajownik Salatka
Gail Marie Gajownik Salatka passed away on May 19, 2024, surrounded by loved ones at the age of 73.
Gail was born in Chicago, on April 27, 1951, to Renetta and Stanley Gajownik. She attended St. Joseph Elementary School and St. Francis DeSales High School in South Chicago through her junior year. She graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Mi., in 1969.
After moving to Chattanooga in 1969, Gail continued to nursing school at Piedmont Hospital School of Nursing in Atlanta, graduating in 1972 as a registered nurse.
She began her nursing career at Parkridge Hospital in Chattanooga immediately after graduation. After a few years, she moved to Erlanger Medical Center to begin a lifelong career in adult critical care nursing. She went on to receive her BSN and Adult Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification and specialized in cardiac care. She was pursuing her MSN in nursing from Southern Adventist University. She was most known for her position as the adult critical care nursing educator at Erlanger, where she excelled in the interpretation of EKGs and the ability to train nurses in the interpretation of EKGs.
As an adult critical care nursing educator, she touched hundreds of nurses and medical professionals in the Chattanooga area. Her knowledge, teaching, and personality were most admired and cherished by her students and her colleagues. Gail retired in 2017 after nearly 40 years of Erlanger service. Gail completed her career as the Principal Trainer for the EPIC EMR System during its inception at Erlanger Medical Center.
Gail was an avid reader and cherished the books from her childhood that she enjoyed collecting over the years. She enjoyed cross-stitching, making flower arrangements, and completing all kinds of crafting projects for her friends and family. Gail was also an accomplished figure skater in the 1970s, participating in many events with the Chattanooga Ice Skating Club and in regional competitions. She was loved dearly by her family and friends, who remember her for her positivity, kindness, and compassion.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Stanley and Renetta Gajownik, and grandparents Anthony and Sally Lichnerowicz.
She is survived by her husband, Albert, Sr., her son, Albert, Jr., sister, Gloria Marie Gajownik, stepson Jeffrey (Nena) Salatka of White Lake, MI, and grandchildren Alexis Thomas and Brandon Thomas, stepson Anthony Salatka of New Castle, DE, Gail’s cousins Georgia Lichner of Joliet, IL, Kenneth (Kate) Lichner of Lewisburg, KY, Nancy (Bill) England of Burr Ridge, IL, Steven (Ellen) Lichner of Tinley Park, IL, Diane Lichner of Vernon Hills, IL, Tracy (Lichner) Pierce, her God Child, of Oak Forest, IL, the Kaiser-Saturday family, especially Mary Ann Saturday-Taylor, of Michigan City, IN, the Staszewski families of IN, the Pinkowski families of IN, and cousin Linda Therriault, of Frankfort, IL.
Visitation will be held on Friday, May 31, from 6-8 p.m. at the Hamilton Funeral Home, 4506 Hixson Pike, Hixson, Tn. 37343.
Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, June 1, at noon at St. Jude Catholic Church, 930 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, with interment in the St. Jude Church columbarium immediately after.
Gail requested that any monetary donations in her name be provided to the Chattanooga Room in the Inn, 230 N. Highland Park Ave., Chattanooga, Tn. 37404, https://chattanoogaroomintheinn.com/.