Gail Nicholas Schneider died peacefully at her home in Wilton on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. In good health until the end of her nearly 86 years of life, she is survived by her companion of the last four years, Frank Mabley; by her four children and their families: Whitney Magruder, his wife Jackie, and their children, Matthew and Julie (New York, NY); Justin Magruder, his partner, Diane, and his children, Lucy Jane and Gail Elnora (Great Falls, VA); Tracy Sennett, her husband, Scott, and their children, Jackson, Olivia and Drew (Redding); and Stuart Magruder, his partner, Heather, and his children, Seldon and Jasper (Redondo Beach, CA); and by her sister, Ruth Nicholas Poulton and family, and her younger brother, Whitney Nicholas and family. Gail was predeceased by her youngest brother, William.

Gail was born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1938, the second child of a prominent lawyer, William Howard Nicholas, and his wife, Elnora Whitney Nicholas. Gail had a vibrant life in Southern California, swimming, surfing, water skiing and sailing in the Pacific Ocean while keeping an active social and academic calendar. Gail attended Marlborough School in Los Angeles before completing her secondary studies at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA. After her freshman and sophomore years at Vassar College, she returned to California to complete her undergraduate degree at the University of California, graduating in the spring of 1959. She described those two years at Berkeley as the happiest years of her life.

Soon back in Los Angeles, Gail got engaged to Jeb Stuart Magruder. They wed in October 1959 and immediately started a family. Pursuing Jeb’s business opportunities around the country, the couple moved to Kansas City, MO, where Whitney was born. Next came Evanston, IL, where Justin and Tracy were born. After five years, they moved back to Santa Monica, CA, where their fourth, Stuart, was born, making him a fifth-generation Californian.

Gail and Jeb were active politically. Jeb led Don Rumsfeld’s first successful campaign for US Congress in 1962 and joined Richard Nixon’s second presidential campaign in California in 1967. When Nixon won, he asked Jeb to join the Nixon White House, and the family moved to Washington D.C. The family joined the National Presbyterian Church.

In 1975, the family left Washington DC in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal to live in Colorado Springs, CO. There Gail wrote A Gift of Love, her reckoning of their life in politics and the tumultuous years after Watergate. The Christian faith and church community that sustained the family through the trauma of Watergate became even more central to her life. After three years in Colorado, the family moved to Princeton, NJ, where Gail earned a master’s degree in divinity from the Princeton Theological Seminary. Gail and Jeb made a final move to Burlingame, CA, where in 1984 they divorced.

Through all the moves and turmoil, Gail guarded the family’s safety and sanity. To start fresh, Gail moved back to familiar terrain in Bethesda, MD, just outside of Washington DC. Gail was ordained as a Presbyterian minister at Western Presbyterian Church in September 1988. Soon she found a fixer-upper weekend home on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay near Deale, MD.

She grew deeply connected with this land, eventually building her home on the property that she christened “Sanctuary.” In 1990, she moved to Sanctuary full-time. She loved the vibrant natural landscape and the wildlife that inhabited her property, including bald eagles and osprey, horseshoe crabs and the famous Maryland blue crabs. While living on the Chesapeake, she met a Midwestern banker named James Schneider, from Kankakee, IL. James was a true gentleman, a veteran of WWII, and a widower with three adult children. They married in 1997 and looked forward to growing old together. 

Unfortunately, soon after their marriage, Jim passed while they were traveling to see his children.

Gail was deeply engaged in the Deale community for over 30 years on the Bay. She helped develop a local history museum, actively supporting local artists and painting and creating many works herself. She remained on the Bay until 2018 and made many deep friendships. With no small amount of regret, at the age of 80 years old, she sold her Chesapeake Bay property and moved to Easton, CT, to be near Tracy and Whitney.

Finding a spiritual home at the Wilton Presbyterian Church, Gail met Frank. They formed a beautiful couple, at ease with each other, and full of respect for the other’s full life to date. Gail touched many lives. She was a dreamer and an artist, and loved the arts, music and the natural world. She will be deeply missed by her family and many friends.

A memorial service and celebration of Gail’s life will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27, at Wilton Presbyterian Church (48 New Canaan Rd.). All friends and family are welcome to join at 1 p.m. The celebration will be livestreamed.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gail’s name to the University of California (Berkeley), Habitat for Humanity, the Sierra Club, the Dana Hall School, Wilton Presbyterian Church, or the Captain Avery Museum in Shady Side, MD.

To offer online condolences please visit: the Bouton Funeral Home online.