Nila Jean Gale

Nila Jean Gale was born on November 20, 1925 on the family farm near Axtell, Kansas and passed from this life on June 10, 2021 at the age of 95 at the Springfield Long Term Care Center.

Nila is preceded in death by her parents Roy and Nina Torrence, a sister Evelyn Steele, her husband Larry Gale and a grandson Mitchell Gale.  She is survived by her children Lance (Luann) Gale, Mike Gale, Leslie (Spencer) Stewart, grandchildren Jennifer (Ryan) Grutt, Blake (Shuamay Cooper) Gale, Ashley (Luke) Kailburn, Bo (Jenna) Hutches, Todd Hutches, Rafe Hutches and Luke Hutches, great grandchildren Peter Grutt, Lucy Grutt, Arlo Gale, Anders Gale and Charles Hutches.

Memorial donations can be made to the Springfield Swimming Pool or the Springfield Teachers Association scholarship fund.

Nila started school in a one room schoolhouse at the young age of 5 because the teacher lived at the Torrence house. She and her sister, Evelyn, attended the country school until Evelyn went to high school and then they both attended the town school.  Nila loved school and completed 2 grades in one year allowing her to graduate from high school at the age of 16.

Nila was a country girl for sure.  She wrote about riding horses to school, traveling by horse and wagon, butchering their own meat, and canning and preserving vegetables and fruits.  Harvesting was a major part of Nila’s childhood.   The family and neighbors would harvest the corn by hand and throw the ears into the wagon that was pulled alongside the harvesters.  The corn was then scraped into a wire bin and then shelled and used for feed or to sell.  The cobs were put in the bin to burn in the heating stoves in the house. Wheat harvest was done with horses and an implement called a binder that cut the wheat, tied it with twine into bundles and laid them on the ground. Then the “shockers” would come along and combine 8-10 bundles and stand them wheat side up so that the steam engine thresher could come along and separate the grain from the straw as workers pitched the shocks into the thresher.  The grain was also used for feed  for the animals and some was sold.  The straw was put into haystacks and used in the winter for bedding for the animals or sometimes for feed.  Hay harvest took place 3 times a summer for the Torrence family.  They used three mowers pulled by horses for each field.  After the alfalfa was cut and dried, it was raked into rows with the rake machine also pulled by horses. Next the hay was “sweeped” and once that sweep was loaded, it was taken to the barn and put in the hay loft with a pulley system…. again horse powered.  Nila was a part of each and every one of these tasks and learned how to do many things to help on the family farm.

After high school graduation, Nila wanted to go to work in the defense plants in Kansas City to help with the World War II effort, but her mother would not let her since she was so young.  So she went to Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and graduated with a major in Physical Education and a minor in science.  She was one of only two females in that class to graduate with a PE degree. She was quite a pioneer for women at that time!  Nila taught in Beloit, Kansas and in Hutchinson, Kansas out of college.

Nila met Larry Gale on a blind date.  She came to Colorado during the summer of 1948 with a friend who had a boyfriend in Boulder. Nila was supposed to go on a blind date with a fellow who had a red beard.  Larry had shaved for the date, so Nila thought she was with the wrong guy all evening.  It must have been a good date because Larry and Nila were married on July 4th of the next summer on the family farm in Kansas and were married for 58 years.

The Gale’s moved to Springfield and bought the Colvin drug store with Larry’s parents, Arlo and Mildred Gale.  Nila worked at a bank and then for Poe and Marie Ballard in their grocery store  before getting a teaching job with Springfield Schools.  Nila taught in the Springfield school system for 40 years as a PE teacher and coach and retired in 1984. She loved the Springfield Longhorns and was a continued supporter of the school activities for many years.

Nila, along with Peggy Fankhouser, taught swimming lessons for many, many years at both of the Springfield pools… the cold one which was just north of the Methodist Church and the heated one that we have today.  She was a certified Water Safety Instructor and was relentless in keeping swimming lessons available to kids during the summer.  In fact, if you are sitting in the audience and know how to swim, chances are you were taught by Nila.

After retiring from teaching, she loved to garden, swim, play bridge and go to trap shoots with Larry.  They made many, many good memories and friendships in the trap shooting circuit. The Gale’s also loved to go to their cabin near Allenspark, Colorado.  The entire family has many fond memories of time in the mountains.   Nila enjoyed all of her grandkids and their activities, especially all the sports they participated in.  She didn’t miss a game, match or track meet until her health prevented her from attending.