Gail Tanaka

Feb. 7, 1952 - June 7, 2022

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Gail Tanaka passed away peacefully at home in West Seattle, due to cancer that could not be cured. Illness never touched her spirit. Wonderful hospice care was provided by Providence Mount St. Vincent. With a smile, her last words were "I'm ready," with her husband David and daughter Lia at her side. Gail was born to Martha Matsumoto and James Tanaka, Nisei immigrants to Vashon Island. Her parents passed when she was young, so her aunts and many cousins became her very close family. They continued to be an important part of Gail's life, a strong family network, as children were born and grew up and had children of their own. Gail earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Evergreen State College and a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. Her life's passion was to contribute her talents in places with a community service mission. She was the Executive Director of the International District Community Health Clinic in 1981, where she met her husband David McLanahan, a surgeon at Pacific Medical Center who, as a volunteer, set up a half-day per week surgical clinic. She was active in the Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizen League, the oldest Asian American civil and human

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