Julia Gilbert, who died Tuesday night, was a woman who has a zest for life, people and family and an ability to inspire.
She could make a person's life all that much better simply by being who she was.
Gilbert was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago and like many of those people in her situation, she developed a formidable strength and conviction to fight and survive that can very easily drive you to tears.
However, these are not tears of despair or sadness, but tears that can easily lead to a spiritual uplifting that can make you believe that anything in life to accomplish is possible.
She was the assistant principal at Radford School, where she previously served as their esteemed physical education teacher.
Gilbert celebrated her 25th year as a member of the Junior League of El Paso this year. She was on the 1994 committee that brought in Midnight Basketball to El Paso.
"I have worked with Mrs. Gilbert for the past seven years and during my tenure she loves and cares so much for the children of our school, and in fact all children," John Doran, the principal at Radford School, said before her death.
The school gymnasium was named after Gilbert on April 15, indicative of the impact she made on the many students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni. April 15 was also Gilbert's birthday.
A Kansas native and the daughter of Dean and Bonnie Tooley, she was a graduate of Kansas State University, arriving in El Paso in the mid-1980s with her husband of 34 years, Joel Gilbert.
Unbeknownst to her, she would later meet a lifelong friend, Haidi Appel, the current principal at Mitzi Bond Elementary School.
In a twist of fate, Appel's husband, Jerry, would take their oldest daughter, Edana, to the local park to play and through these park visits they met Julia Gilbert and she quickly became good friends of the family.
This later led to the Gilberts being named godparents to the Appels' youngest son, Marcus, and a good friend as well to the Appels' other two children, Edana and Shulamit.
Gilbert worked her early years in El Paso at the Jewish Community Center, and although neither Gilbert nor her husband were of Jewish faith, the center is well-known in the El Paso community to be diverse and caring and even more so a special place for individuals of all faiths.
"We do not have the same religious faith, my being Jewish and her being Methodist, but we still celebrated all of the Jewish holidays and many other holidays together," Appel said before Gilbert died.
The cancer that took Gilbert's life had become very aggressive.
But that dreaded cancer could not stop her from attending the 20th reunion of Midnight Basketball on April 11. Gilbert was called front and center by the members of the Junior League to be thanked for her dedicated service and for just being there.
Radford School was not the only place to bestow a prestigious naming upon Gilbert. The Junior League of El Paso established the annual Julia Gilbert Award.
"The award will be given to the active Junior League member that personifies the character of Julia Gilbert with her positivity and dedication to the community, to women and to the Junior League," said Julie Kallman, who is credited with helping bring Midnight Basketball to El Paso.
"What most impresses me about Julia Gilbert is that she is so dynamic and inspiring and so great for children to be around "Whatever project she is a part of, you know that event will shine," Kallman said before Gilbert's death.

By Wayne Thornton / Special to the El Paso Times
Posted: 06/05/2014 12:00:00 AM MDT