Samlan "Gale" Merideth

MERIDETH, Gale (Samlan)

With tearful eyes and broken hearts, we share the sad news of Gale’s sudden passing on Saturday, August 26th, 2023.

Born to parents Sungwan and Pongsak Kotvichai in Thailand in 1950, Gale grew up in the rural region of Sakon Nakhon with her siblings working in the family’s rice fields. Even with the limited education afforded to girls at the time, she was able to realize her goal of becoming a landowner and she proudly purchased the land on which her family still farms to this day.

She met her partner in love and life, Jim (James), while he was stationed in Northern Thailand with the Air Force. Not long after on November 14, 1969, she and Jim married and Gale would arrive in the US in 1972. Gale embraced being a military wife and over nearly 60 years she would raise her family through multiple re-locations and deployments across the United States and in Germany. The latter 36 years they spent enjoying Sierra Vista.

An absolutely proud moment for Gale and Jim was in December, 2022 when Gale was proudly sworn in as a US citizen.

She is survived by the love of her life husband Jim. Their children: John (Ed) , Marlena (Javier) and Art (Amber) had a front row seat to their parent’s incredible love story. Never far from their hearts, Narinnat, their adopted daughter who remained in Thailand, was never far from their thoughts. Gale was the proud grandmother to nine grandchildren: David, Bethany, Anna, Victoria, Sammy, Nathan, Warintha, Victor, and Olivia, and fifteen great-grandchildren. She is also survived by numerous extended family members in Thailand. She was predeceased by her grandson, Lucas Natividad.

Gale was a dedicated and proud Air Force wife and mother; a homemaker who loved taking care of her family using food as her love language. Our Grandma was never happier than when her family came home to celebrate holidays and she would prepare her dishes ensuring that every possible one – both American and Thai – was on the table. Her famous egg rolls were a hit with all who got to enjoy them.

Bingo was her guilty passion; she was an avid player and while she didn’t always win, she was usually “just one number away.”

The family will receive friends and family for a visitation at Hatfield Funeral Home, 830 South Highway 92, Sierra Vista, Arizona on Friday, September 1st from 2 pm to 4 pm.

Following cremation Gale’s remains will be interred in Southern Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, Sierra Vista.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Samlan "Gale" Merideth, please visit our floral store.