Gabriele Maria Goins

Gabriele (Gail) Maria Goins (nee Friedel) passed peacefully to enter Heaven on August 11, 2026, in Oklahoma City, OK. Gail was born December 20, 1937, in Niederhofen, Germany, to Else (nee Kitmeier) and Alois Friedel. She had many amazing stories of her early childhood. She grew up and was educated in a Post-War Germany—she studied Mathematics and spoke German, French and English. She later met her future husband, Charles Lyndel Goins, who was stationed in Germany while serving in the U.S. Army.

Gail and Charles married in 1964 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. After Charles’ deployment, the couple came home to the United States, where Gail became a U.S Citizen, which she always said was one of her proudest moments. They lived in North Carolina near family, and Gail worked for the U.S. Government as a Supply Systems Analyst at Womack Army Medical Center in Fayetteville, NC. All of the nieces and nephews looked forward to spending time with Gail and Charles during summer vacation, and she made each feel special and loved. Gail was beloved by all of Charles’ family. She continued to work after she and Charles moved to San Antonio, TX. Gail was mathematically inclined and could balance a ledger or add a long column of numbers with unerring accuracy. She enjoyed and was excellent at cooking, and her all-in schnitzel dinners with German potato salad, spaetzle, and red cabbage were legendary. Post-retirement, Gail and Charles loved traveling and spending time with family.

After Charles’ death, Gail lived in Bandera, TX, where she was deeply involved with her friends, her faith, and her church. She later moved to Oklahoma City to live with her niece, Debra Bair (Jack). Gail’s faith was strong, and when her health began to fail, she lived and made her own decisions to the end with strength, love, and dignity.

Gail was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Charles, as well as her sister-in-law R’Dell Goins Cutshaw and brother-in-law John Goins. She is survived by her sister Inge Nadler of Unterschleissheim, Germany, brother Heinz Friedel of Munich, Germany, niece Elizabeth (Marcus) Renowitsch of Unterschleissheim, Germany, and niece Erika Pulfer of Furstenfeldbruck, Germany. She is also survived by her husband’s siblings, Drusilla (Tootsie) Goins Bruce, Melvin Goins, Frances Goins Tomlinson, Howard Goins, and their respective families.

A service will be held at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX, by Wharton Dock Church, and she will be laid to rest with her husband at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery. Date and time of services pending confirmation from the National Cemetery. Details to follow.

Those who knew and loved Gail will miss her but will cherish her memory and be comforted by the knowledge that she will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.