The beautiful Ms. Gail Louise Lofton, age 81, born May 8, 1945, of Metropolis, Illinois, made her transition from earth to heaven on June 19, 2026, at Metropolis Nursing and Rehabilitation and Health Care Center surrounded by her family.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Gail was of Baptist Faith and part of a Baptist Church years ago. She had been a member of the Moose Lodge in Metropolis, Illinois, and the Eagles Club in Paducah, Kentucky. She was a wonderful entrepreneur who was always coming up with great ideas. She was a business owner, and had owned a restaurant, bar, cleaning service, and had multiple rental properties throughout Brookport, Paducah, and Metropolis. She loved buying houses and cars to fix them up to resell them. She had been employed as a taxi driver, waitress, gas station attendant, dancer, and armor truck driver.

She loved having and attending yard sales. She enjoyed thrift store shopping and collecting all the wonderful treasures she could find. Gail loved to garden, every year she would plant Petunias and Moss-rose in memory of her mother. She also planted her hot peppers, tomatoes, and onions, she had to have them with every meal. If she didn't have any of her own, she would go to the Farmers Market which she enjoyed. Gail a Southern Beauty born and raised in Tiptonville, Tennessee, was known for her delicious country cooking and anytime you visited, she always had a good ol' pot of white beans and ham, with cornbread and onions, and fried potatoes with onions cooking. She was really well known for her Southern Tomato Gravy and homemade Country Biscuits that she would cook in her well-loved cast-iron skillet. Everyone loved them. She loved holidays and family get togethers, she especially loved watching her kids sing and would sometimes join in on the karaoke.

She loved to listen to Old School Country music, especially on the juke box at the bars and clubs she attended. She often played songs such as, Before the Next Tear Drop Falls, by Freddy Fender, The Blues Man, by Hank Williams Jr., Golden Ring, by George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Coat of Colors, by Dolly Parton, Coal Miners Daughter, You Ain’t Woman Enough and Fist City, songs by Loretta Lynn. They were her favorite; she loved Loretta Lynn because everyone would always tell her she looked just like her. She was the life of the party who loved to dance and go out to the bars and clubs. She loved having a good time dancing with the tall, dark, and handsome Cowboys. As Cute and tiny as she was, she had a spunky, feisty, and spitfire personality. Gail loved sitting on her front porch or out in her front yard, drinking a cold beer with salt on top of the can, with her friends and family. She would share stories about when her kids were little, and about her mom and siblings. She called it the good ol’ days. She loved telling stories about her time working at the Clown Lounge in Paducah, Kentucky, in the 1970s. She was fond of and enjoyed talking about all the good times she had working at Veaches Truck Stop, she loved the people she met while working there. Gail was a people person who never met a stranger. She embraced Peace and had a love for humanity in a way that was entirely her own. She had a loving tender heart and deep compassion for others, especially the underprivileged. She would try to help any way she could, and acts of kindness came naturally to her because helping others was simply who she was. She would give the shirt off her back if you needed it. She was always willing to lend a helping hand and not afraid of hard work. She was always there when someone needed her, no task was more important on earth greater than the love she had for her family and friends. She was protective of the ones she loved and made sure everyone was ok. Those who knew mom will remember her huge heart of gold, her unwavering individuality, fearlessness, her wit, trustworthiness, loyalty, love, protectiveness, compassion, empathy, and devotion to her family and friends. She especially loved caring for her mom; her mom was her life. Mom was the confidant that many turned to for wise counsel and a compassionate ear. She was the problem solver if you had one she would fix them or find a way to. She leaves behind a lifetime of precious memories and kindness that’s touched the hearts of many. She and her heart of gold will be greatly missed.

My Beautiful Mom

God saw you getting tired

And a cure was not to be

So, he put his arms around you

And he whispered “Come to Me.”

With tearful eyes we watched you

We watched you fade away

Although we loved you dearly

We could not make you stay

A golden heart stopped beating

Hard-working hands at rest

God broke our hearts to prove to us

He chose to take the best

It’s lonesome here without you

We miss you more each day

Life doesn’t seem the same

Since you’ve gone away

When days are sad and lonely and

Everything goes wrong

We seem to hear you whisper

“Cheer Up and Carry On.”

Each time we see your picture

You seem to smile and say

“Don’t cry. I’m in God’s hands

We’ll meet again someday.

• -Author Unknown
• 
  

Gail is survived by her daughters, Mandy Lofton and Janet Dabbs; sons, Tim Dabbs and Mike Dabbs; grandchildren, Xavier Lofton, Eric Hill, Jeremy Hill, Racheal Hill, Jennifer Duong, Miranda Duong, Samantha Duong, Zachary Duong, Sho Dabbs, Derrick Dabbs and Damien Dabbs; several great grandchildren; nieces, Carol Diaz and Marie Matthews; nephews, Eugene Matthews and David Averitt; son-in-law’s, Phu Duong and Bobbie Hill; ex-husband, Dewayne Lofton.

Awaiting Gails Heavenly Arrival with open arms, her mother, Nelsa Mae Lauman; daughter, Debbie Duong; son, Billy Dabbs; sister, Reba Champy; brother, W.T. Matthews.

memorial contributions may be given in Gails' name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105; Cope Food Pantry, PO Box 761, Metropolis 62960; Happy Hearts Senior Center, 701 Market St, Metropolis 62960.