Gail Ehrlich

Gail Ehrlich (Skolnick), 88, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died on September 9, 2024. Gail was born in Philadelphia on March 31, 1936, daughter of Irving and Sue Belle (Cutler) Skolnick, both pharmacists. She was graduated from Overbrook High School and Drake University.  

She trained as a classical ballet dancer in her youth. She served as one of the City of Philadelphia’s first Municipal Guides under Mayor James Tate’s administration, greeting visitors, from heads of state to school groups. She went on to work for the Philadelphia Airport, where she developed the first federal program for multilingual information guides at U.S. airports. She later worked as Director of Alumnae Affairs at Moore College of Art.  

A stylish and elegant woman, she was named one of Women’s Wear Daily’s most fashionable women in the 1970’s. She is a former chairman of the board of the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. Until recently, she served on the boards of EgoPo Classic Theatre and her condominium association and was an active volunteer with The Philadelphia Orchestra until her death. 

She married George E. Ehrlich, a noted rheumatologist, with whom she traveled widely and enjoyed a wonderful life full of art and music. A previous marriage ended in divorce. 

She is survived by her children Steven L. Abrams (Debra) of Boca Raton, FL; Rebecca Abrams Sayles (David) of Westmoreland, NH; and Charles E. Ehrlich (Anna) of Vienna, Austria; four grandchildren; and her sister, Janet Marovich. Her husband died in 2014.  

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Congregation Mikveh Israel, 44 N. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Philadelphia Orchestra via www.philorch.org.