Crystal D. Gamage
July 12, 1919-Feb. 18, 2021
Palo Alto, California

Long time Palo Alto resident, Crystal Diete Gamage, passed away at her home on February 18, 2021 with her daughters by her side. She was 101 years and 7 months old. Her family is grateful that she had a long full life filled with family, many accomplishments and good friends in a community she loved.

The Palo Alto Weekly interviewed Crystal in 1996 and said “It is hard to find anything in Palo Alto that has not benefited from the involvement of Crystal Gamage in some way.” She was involved in a wide variety of groups and said “The things I did I liked” and the Weekly said “ She became President of nearly every group she joined”. She also felt it was important to make sure you encouraged and mentored people “you were bringing along, making them enthusiastic, because you don’t want to be president forever”.

Crystal was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edith Beyer Diete and Ernest A. Diete on July 12, 1919. Her bother, Richard, was born the following year and they joined a large and supportive extended family in activities including summers at their cottage on the Fox River. Crystal was an active youth doing extremely well in academics and in sports - especially swimming. She said her “parents encouraged her to do her best but there was no pressure to come in first but just to do her best”.

Crystal swam breaststroke for the Lake Shore Athletic Club and won many Chicago and Illinois titles. At the age of 16 she was selected as an alternate to the 1936 US Olympic Swim team. A few weeks later she received a telegram saying a breaststroker was sick and she should leave for Berlin (where the 1936 Olympics were held) but she could not get there in time to compete as transportation was only by water and train!

Later that year she won the Illinois State Women’s fencing title which she attributed not so much to her fencing technique but to the endurance she developed thru her swimming.

She graduated first in her class at Chicago’s Senn High and was awarded a scholarship to Northwestern University where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Mortar Board and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She was on the Northwestern swim team as well as president of the campus YMCA and the German Literature Club. She also trained as a Red Cross nurse’s aid and volunteered in local hospitals during the war years. Her years at Northwestern demonstrated a pattern of excellence and community involvement that she would follow through her life.

Crystal married Walt Gamage in 1943. In 1944 they headed to Washington State when they stopped in Palo Alto to visit a friend who was graduating from Stanford.

Walt went by the Palo Alto Times offices and was introduced to the editor, Eleanor Cogswell, who hired him on the spot to be the sports editor - and Palo Alto became their life long home. Crystal immediately got involved in the community by volunteering at the Palo Alto Hospital (Hoover Pavilion), and joining the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and League of Women Voters (LWV) - she served as the President of each of those local groups and went on to become the Vice President of the state LWV and head of their policy committee on California water. Later she served on the Santa Clara Water Board. She also worked at the Hoover Institute for the group that trained Navy officers to manage Japan after the surrender.

By 1950 Crystal and Walt had three young daughters. The family was active in the First Presbyterian Church - Crystal taught Sunday school and played the piano for the children, Walt was on the building committee for the new church building and Crystal raised pledges for the patio. The church had a wonderful 100th Birthday for Crystal in 2019.

Crystal was active in her daughter’s activities including PTA, Brownies, Girl Scouts, and being a welcoming mother to her daughter’s friends. Hearing of her passing several of her daughter’s friends said she was like a second mother to them - which was the ultimate compliment! In the summer the family spent time at Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake -where Crystal would swim across the lake.

Over the years Crystal expanded her community involvement to include the Palo Alto Historical Foundation- she served as President, she was one of the founders of Friends of the Palo Alto Library, she was a charter member in 1972 of La Comida, the senior nutrition program, she served on the Avenidas Board (Senior Center), she served on the board of the Channing House for 20 years, was a director of the Museum of American Heritage, she served on the Santa Clara Grand Jury (the only woman at the time) and was a member of the United Way Board for 10 years, coordinating the corporate giving program as a volunteer. She was a board member of Foothills-De Anza Community College Foundation, and a member of the Flood Control Advisory Board of the Santa Clara Valley District. She once said that she liked solving problems and that is why she would get involved with an organization. She would not stay on a Board if she did not think she could be helpful.

When her daughters were in high school, she had several high profile jobs. One of her favorites was director of Downtown Palo Alto from 1969-1976. She especially liked working with the merchants and on the urban design project that planted Sycamore trees on University Avenue. She said they brought a touch of the ‘Champs Elysees’ to University Avenue. The trees are still there! She joined the United Way from 1976-1989 as director of allocations and special gifts for the United Way. When she retired the United Way director said they were replacing her with 3 people!

Crystal enjoyed supporting Stanford Athletics by awarding the Walter Gamage Scholarship each year. She appreciated the dedication of Stanford athletes to their sport as well as to their studies - as she did at Northwestern. She followed a variety of sports and could tell many back stories because of her husband’s long involvement with sports in California.

Her friends were far and wide…with so many in Palo Alto over the years. She enjoyed playing bridge, her “HeartFit for Life” group, Gamble Gardens and the Palo Alto Garden Club. Zoom connected her to some groups but she missed the personal connections. She still followed the PaloAlto City Council!

She had friends of all ages as that is how she lived her life…engaging with people because of who they were, not about their age, race or religion. She loved her church and being involved in the community.

Her accomplishments were vast but her love of her family was always the most important to her. Her family will tell you how important her support and encouragement was to them. She is survived by her three daughters and their spouses, Crystal Gray, Carol and Phil Ferris and Cynthia Gamage. She was blessed with 4 grandchildren, Chris Gray (Susan Gray), Heather Ferris Basso (Greg Basso), Tracey Ferris Mogan (Kevin Mogan), and Brian Ferris (Audra Ferris). In addition, she is survived by 8 great grandchildren 14 years old and younger – Jack and Travis Gray, Abby and Emerson Mogan, Grace and Michael Basso and Walter and Duke Ferris.

When she reached 100 years she told one of her daughters “I do not feel young nor do I feel old. I feel like a human of indeterminate age and that feels freeing”. She was loved by many and will be missed by all.

Tags: arts/media, public service