Barbara Gake was my cousin. She was the daughter of my father's brother, Walter, and his wife Connie. Our extended family lived in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was born in 1957; Barbara was born in 1946. I remember very little of her when we lived in Lincoln. What I do recall was Barbara and my sister, Kathy doing things together. She was very kind to my brother and I. Our family moved to Sacramento, California in 1965, leaving our extended family of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins behind. We were saddened to be away from our family, but my father's employer transferred my father to Sacramento to fill a need there.
Barbara became politically active in the Presidential campaign of 1968. She was working with Robert Kennedy's campaign, and she was present when he was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in June of 1968. This event was devastating to Barbara. My parents invited her to Sacramento for a visit as the felt that family around her would be a good thing for her. When she arrived for her visit, she was very quiet and spent many hours talking to my sister Kathy in Kathy's room. After a few days, she came out of her shell and she was very friendly toward all of us. We were disappointed to see her go home.
I lost track of her for many years, only hearing that she was in New York, for what, I didn't know. I finally reconnected with her in 2008 after the death of my mother. She had sent a sympathy card to my father, and I noticed her address was still in New York. I wrote to her a few times a year, sending Christmas cards and other correspondence. I was delighted to make contact with her.
I heard of her death through my sister, Kathy. I was saddened.
I want to say that I haven't forgotten you, Barbara. I remember your soft voice and the fact that you called me "Mikey".
Michael Gake