Obituary of Gayle Ann Gerbrands

Gayle Ann Gerbrands, a retired owner of a daycare in Burlington for over 30 years passed away unexpectedly after a brief illness on Thursday, March 14, 2024, surrounded by her family. She had just turned 60 years old the week prior.  Gayle was born in Stoneham and grew up in Burlington.  She was the daughter of John and Ruth Everton.  She was a 1982 graduate of Burlington High School.  Gayle loved children and opened a day care with her mother called Gerbrands Family Day Care where she took care of children from 8 weeks old all the way to 12 years old.  The kids lovingly called her “Gaylee” and they just adored her.  She was funny, loving, caring, and was a second mother to most.  She had a curriculum that encouraged a child’s imagination, stimulated growth, while giving them structure.   During her tenure, there were 3 generations of Gerbrands’/Evertons working together at the day care.  Her students and their families were like family to her.  Nothing made Gayle happier than meeting a former parent or student while out and about and hearing how they were progressing in school, work, and even starting families of their own. For Gayle being a childcare provider wasn’t about the money, but rather the children.

Gayle was deeply involved in her daughters’ lives.  She had a warm and welcoming home and her children’s friends thought of her as a second mother as well.  She was a great hostess, there was always plenty of food, and she even sent extra school lunches for her children’s friends.  She coached the A & B Burlington Pop Warner Cheerleading squads for many years.  She was a great motivator, loved hyping up the girls before a competition, helped with their hair, celebrated their successes, and comforted them in their losses.  She also taught religious education at St. Malachy’s Church.  To her credit, she was the only teacher to ever to set off the smoke alarms in the church.  Summers were spent with her family and many friends at the Kings Family Campground in Sutton.  They would swim, participate in activities, attend dances, and sit around the campfires telling stories and laughing.  Gayle loved when she became “Narnie” to her three granddaughters.  They could do no wrong and she smothered them with love. 

Gayle was the loving mother of Jillian Gerbrands & her fiancé Robert Locke of Billerica and Jade Adams & her husband Jonathan of Tyngsborough and is survived by the beloved father of her children Richard Gerbrands of Rindge, NH.  She was the sister of John Everton of Billerica and David Everton & his longtime companion, Cindy Chenevert, of Barnstead, NH.  She was the extremely proud grandmother of Sadie, Skylar, and Stella Locke.  Gayle was also survived by many nieces, nephews, friends, and her fur baby Murphy.

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, Burlington on Monday, March 18 from 4-7pm. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Tuesday March 19 at 9am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Margaret Church in St. Veronica Parish, www.stveronicama.org, 111 Winn Street, Burlington at 10 a.m.  Services will conclude with a burial at Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. 

Memorials in Gayle’s memory may be made to Wee Care Burlington, www.weecare4kids.org, 10 St. Mark’s Road, Burlington, MA 01803. 

For online guestbook and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net