Gail McGee visited Haiti as a missionary 60 times over 13 years

Gail McGee, 60, lives in Larkin Township with her husband, Bob. They’ve been married for 41 years.

He’s been a chemical engineer with Dow and now Transcendia. They grew up in Zanesville, Ohio. The couple started dating in 1982, he was at grad school at Ohio University, and she was just out of high school, starting at Bowling Green State University.  

They have five children, three biological and two adopted. They have Graham, married to Emily, who have a daughter, Kaylee, 4, and son, Brody, 9 months; Megan married to Brandon, they have Skye, 18, Aiden, 16, and Arya, 18 months; and Michelle married to Zach. The McGrees adopted two sons from Haiti, Max and Onelson. Max is now in Detroit and Onelson in Indianapolis.  

How long have you lived in Midland and what brought you here? We moved here in December 1983. We got married in November and then Bob got a job offer with Dow, so we got married, packed up, and drove our little car up here.  

What is your profession and why? I’m a registered nurse. When I met Bob, I was doing my pre-reqs for nursing school but I was on a three-year waiting list for that when I moved to Midland, so I ended up working for Dow, working as an analytical and quality technologist. I did that for 23 years.

In 2007, Dow sold the business I was working for. Instead of moving to Louisiana, I just retired out, and I decided to go back to school to become a registered nurse. I worked at MyMichigan until 2012.

I was working in inpatient mental health. And then I was at Great Lakes Bay Health Centers until 2022. I now work in Saginaw at TTI, working with folks with mental health and substance use disorders. I do what I do because I want to be there, especially for those with substance use disorders.

When they hit rock bottom, they lose everything they have. There’s so much stigma associated with that. They need those of us that can be supportive and be with them along their recovery journey.

What are some of your interests and hobbies? I was a missionary, ministering in Haiti, short term medical ministry. I led medical teams, we’d go down for 10 days, every three months. I’ve been to Haiti 60 times over 13 years. That’s how I got involved with the two boys I brought back to the states.

I love the country. It’s a beautiful country. It’s just too dangerous to go there and work right now. I do a lot of volunteer work. I volunteer for the Open Door Women and Children’s Shelter. I like simple stuff, hiking, biking, gardening, reading, and spending time with my family. That’s my number one. Can’t get enough of my grandkids.  

What are your favorite things to do in Midland? City Forest and the Chippewa Nature Center, the Rail Trail. We’re outdoors people, anything that’s hiking and outside.  

What do you enjoy about living here? Midland is a great place to raise a family, and with that, the school system is great, the parks, all of the sports my kids played.   

What is a message you’d like to give the community? The community has a lot to offer when it comes to serving other people, so I encourage the community to participate in volunteering at Open Door, Habitat for Humanity, the school system, foster care mentoring. The community has tons of opportunities that people should take advantage of.