Obituary: Kayla Inger Gist

Kayla I. Gist, 38, of Cloquet, passed away Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, surrounded by family at Mayo Methodist Hospital in Rochester.

Kayla was born on May 28, 1983, to Pamela M. Carlson-Jones and Thomas H. Thompson in Rugby, North Dakota. Kayla was married to Anthony Gist on Feb. 9, 2007, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Cloquet. They renewed their vows on Feb. 7, 2009, in Fargo when Anthony returned from deployment. She lived with Anthony and their two daughters, Hannah and Elise, on the family farm.

Kayla attended Fargo South High School, graduating with honors in 2001. She then attended and graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2005, also with honors, with a double major in accounting and business administration with a minor communications.

People who knew Kayla would say that she had one of the most selfless souls you could come across. If you knew her, you knew she lit up a room with her caring demeanor and beautiful smile. When she was not working as a senior financial analyst at Ascena Retail Group, she spent time caring for her family, working on many projects (she sure knew how to get her hands dirty) and cultivating relationships with her many close friends. Family was of great importance to Kayla, and her two girls were the light of her life. Kayla enjoyed doing home and farm projects, traveling, four-wheeling, watersports and especially horseback riding.

As a youth, she was very involved with the Olivet Lutheran Church. Into adulthood, Kayla continued her volunteer service, assisting the Lakehead Harvest Show kids events, the Wood City Riders Snowmobile Club as their treasurer and many other volunteer opportunities as they arose.

Kayla was preceded in death by her maternal grandmother, Marie Carlson; and her paternal grandfather, George Thompson. She is survived by her loving husband, Anthony; daughters, Hannah and Elise; mother, Pamela (Steve) Jones; father, Thomas Thompson; inlaws, Arthur and Carol Gist; maternal grandfather, Raymond Carlson; paternal grandmother, Inger Thompson; sister-in-law, Amy (Timothy) Reh; and numerous, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Visitation: 5-7 p.m. Oct. 14 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Cloquet. The visitation will resume on Friday at 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service at Our Savior's.

Interment will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery. Arrangements are with Nelson Funeral Care of Cloquet.

Pine Knot News, Oct. 15, 2021