Gayl Ann Bertagni
March 4, 1956 – May 22, 2009
Gayl Ann Bertagni blessed our world on March 4, 1956 and shared her love, joy, peace and food with everyone until her sudden departure on May 22, 2009. Gayl was passionate about life and living it to the fullest.Gayl is survived by her daughter, Bianca Sanders and her father, Robert Sanders (Tacoma), her parents John and Eleanor Bertagni (Renton), her brother Steve (Cheryl) Bertagni and their daughters Jennifer, Gina and Givanna (Marysville), and sister Jane Bertagni Evans (Todd) and their children Emily, Mackenzie and Joe (Cleveland, OH). She is also survived by numerous cousins in the Renton area as well as cousins in Villetta, Garfagnana, Italy; a region where she had recently visited.Gayl was the proud co-owner and entrepreneur of The Swiss Pub of Tacoma, WA and loved creating the business legacy with her business partners, Bob Hill and Jack McQuade. Gayl will be forever loved and missed deeply by many, many people and her dog, Nellie. Friends and family celebrated the life and love of Gayl at a Me-morial Funeral Mass at St. Stephen the Martyr Parish on May 26th. The celebration continued on May 30th at The Swiss Pub. About 500 members of “The Swiss Family” gathered to celebrate Gayl’s life at a wake that filled the downtown Tacoma watering hole to capacity and spilled outside on to the sidewalks. The entire spectrum of the social strata was there, which showed the ability of Gayl to connect with anybody and everybody regardless of where they came from. Bianca said “She was really everyone’s mom; she put everyone else before herself.” Hill said Gayl was a special person to “the whole community, not just us.”Gayl was killed after she was accidently pinned under her pick-up truck while on her way to an annual weekend camp out for her pub’s employees and friends near Packwood in Lewis County. She and her daughter, Bianca, had gotten out of the truck to post signs after nightfall to show the way to the camp out when the Toyota Tacoma began rolling down the steep dirt-gravel road and they chased after it. The pickup hit a stump, tipped over and landed on Gayl.Gayl was proud to have been a graduate of Lindbergh High School’s first graduating class in 1974. She was an avid sports fan and served as a member of the cheerleading staff. She attended Washington State University before transferring to South Seattle Community College, where she received her degree in Culinary Arts. After beginning her career at various Tacoma locations, she and her partners purchased and renovated the rundown Swiss Tavern in 1993 and turned it into a popular downtown gathering spot for food, microbrews and music.As an additional bit of information, The Swiss Pub has a very large display of Dale Chihuly’s beautiful glass works. When Chihuly learned of Gayl’s terrible accident, he called from Europe. He is going to create a special piece of glass art for the family to place where ever they wish. This is to be his tribute to Gayl.In remembrance of Gayl, you may wish to make a contribution to the Emergency Food Network or please support our local farmers.236038
