Gaye was born on July 18, 1941 south of Colome, SD in her grandparent's home. She was born the oldest of three girls to Carl and Rita (Amick) Stroschine.

She attended Kansas Flats country grade school and graduated from Colome High School in 1959. Her dad was a ranch hand and worked on various ranches in the sand hills of Nebraska. The family moved with the cattle and lived in little houses along the cattle drive.

The family was members of Calvary Chapel where she was baptized as a child. This is where she developed a love of our Savior and where the pastor's wife gave her piano and voice lessons. She spent many summers teaching bible school at various churches and later attended Prairie Bible Institute in Threehills Alberta, Canada for one semester. She then became a missionary in Mississippi for about 9 months. Due to the integration riots in the south her dad asked her to come home.

After returning to SD she worked as a nurse's aide in Burke, SD. On September 11, 1963, Gaye married Lyle Hambek from Gregory. To this union three children were born. They lived in Gregory until 1968 when they moved to the Black Hills, finally settling in Spearfish in 1970.

Gaye's passion for helping people led her to become an Emergency Medical Technician in 1979. Gaye worked for 9 years as a police dispatcher with the Spearfish Police Department, however, Gaye's true passion was for Emergency Medical Services where she worked with her son, Brian for 25 years. She spent 33 years serving the Spearfish community as an EMT and EMT-Intermediate. She truly enjoyed responding to ambulance calls and helping others. Gaye had a gentle touch that eased the troubles of the patients in her care. She worked 11 years full time for Spearfish Emergency Ambulance Service as the bookkeeper as well as responding to calls.

Over the years she has traveled to Germany to spend time with Pam, Terry and her first granddaughter, Allison, and was there for the birth of her second granddaughter, Courtney. She came to Virginia to help Pam while she was pregnant with her third granddaughter, Kirsten. She also traveled to France and visited her Uncle Lynn's grave who died during WWII. She went several times to her beloved Hawaii. She truly loved the islands with the flowers and beaches.

She went to Vermont to help Donnie and Naomi for the birth of her first grandson, Thatcher. She loved being a nanny for Thatcher and became his best friend.

One of the highlights of her summers for the last 25 years was the annual All-Family Reunion in Dallas, SD. She became the resident "dough lady" and made kuchen every year - "she knew what good dough felt like". The reunion has brought in relatives from all over the country and she loved welcoming newly-found relatives to the Pochop ranch. During the last few years of her life she made many great friends through her love of dancing.

Gaye was diagnosed with lung cancer on November 17, 2014 and lost her battle on January 9, 2015. She was preceded in death by her father, Carl Stroschine. Gaye is survived by Lyle Hambek of Spearfish; mother, Rita, of Colome, SD; son, Brian of Spearfish; daughter, Pam (Terry) Anderson and their three daughters, Allison, Courtney and Kirsten of Sturgis; son, Donnie (Naomi) Hambek and their son, Thatcher of Spearfish; sisters, Jeanne (Roger) Pochop of Dallas, SD and Connie (Stan) Bicek of Colome, SD; sister-in-law Carol (Ted) Fowler of Aberdeen, SD; many nieces and nephews; and special friend, Bob Tope of Newell, SD and his children.

Visitation for Gaye will be 5-7 PM, Monday, January 12 at Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapel in Spearfish, with a Prayer Service at 7 PM. Funeral Services will be at 10 AM, Tuesday, January 13 at Grace Fellowship Church in Spearfish. Interment will follow at Rosehill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established to benefit the Spearfish Ambulance Service and Northern Hills Relay for Life.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels and Crematory Service of Spearfish.