The gregarious and gracious Gaye Ditzler says early in this interview that she’d prefer to be the one asking the questions, rather than talking about herself, but, discovering that both interviewer and interviewee once lived on Connecticut Ave. in Washington, D. C. assures an easy rapport.
Gaye grew up in suburban Chevy Chase, an exciting environment. She lived there until her late teens, moving then to Baltimore, where she loved the ethnic charm and the seafood.
“I’m a fish,” says the competitive swimmer and diver and former aquatic director (what’s more comfortable and fun than wearing a bathing suit to work?). Although Gaye majored in education in college, the student teaching experience changed her professional plans. As a water instructor, she taught all ages from babies to seniors. She recalls a favorite student, a 72-year-old nun who had never learned to swim.
An entrepreneurial spirit led Gaye to buy a store called the Nut Factory in the college town of Towson, suburb of Baltimore. There, for five years, she sold fresh roasted peanuts, chocolates and gift baskets and “ate a lot of my profits.” When the store moved to a mall and 9-9 hours, it was burn-out time for the Nut Lady. She came to Florida and rented a cottage in Indian Rocks Beach, where one day she found, thanks to the stashing of her “resident” squirrels, Frankie and Johnny, that the nuts had followed her!
Gaye’s subsequent decision to go to massage school led to a fulfilling, 30-year career from which she had semi-retired, working one day a week, at A Center for Massage, incorporating reflexology in her therapy. She had her own business, worked for a chiropractor, and at Hospice and Memory Care facilities. “I was a captive audience, and, here, it was compassionate therapy,” she says of her beloved Hospice and dementia patients. A Reiki Master, she focused on relaxing them with a light touch.
During her three decades of massage therapy, Gaye returned to Washington for a six-year period to care for her parents. She has two older brothers in D.C. and Denver. Here, she enjoyed the companionship and walks with her four dogs. She played golf and loved the beach and reading. The Daily Word was always an integral part of her day: “the messages always seem to be the right ones, and I re-read them and am uplifted each time.”
Raised Presbyterian, Gaye gravitated to a Religious Science church in Baltimore and also attended UU here. Her maternal grandparents founded the Unitarian Church of Montgomery County, MD, in Bethesda, MD, now called The Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church (where The Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, who previously served the neighboring Clearwater UU congregation, is Senior Minister). Two years ago, warming to the positives she had heard about the church and minister across the way, Gaye came to UCC, and she remained here with us because “I love Leddy, her messages, the music, the people, the staff,” she says. Leddy was at Gaye’s side, holding her hand the day before Gaye’s peaceful transition (only a few short weeks after receiving her diagnosis). As usual, Gaye was wearing her lovely silver bracelets on each wrist and silver toe rings on both feet. She smiled and softly whispered her parting words for our spiritual family: “See you soon. I love you.”
Our member, Dennis Carney, looked after Gaye and her four dogs while several other members, including Rick Preston, Maria DeRee, Karen Russo, and Nancy Chambers, and the wonderful Hospice workers did all they could to make Gaye’s passage a peaceful one. A Celebration of Life will be held here directly after our worship service on Sunday, December 9. Following the service, cookies and coffee and lemonade will be served in our Café. All are welcome to attend and bring cookies to share. Contributions toward the preparation of an engraved brick for our prayer walkway in her honor and for the medical care and loving placement of her dogs will be gratefully received by UCC.