07/04/2023
Gail was born in Memphis, TN on 7/30/25. She married her high school sweetheart, Frank Lee Camp, Jr. immediately following WWII. The newlyweds joined OK Hunting and Fishing Club in Weiner, Arkansas and built one of the first cabins there which Gail and the family still enjoy today. Gail took up hunting so she could spend more time with her new husband who insisted on hunting every day of the duck season. Gail fell in love with the sport on the first trip with him, and Frank never went on another hunting trip without her. Gail picked up a duck caller and started calling one day while sandwiched in between two men in a duck blind because she didn’t have any room to swing or shoot her gun. She quickly became better than all the men at duck calling and from then on, they always wanted to include her on hunts. Not only was Gail a good caller but she was and still is an excellent shot.
Frank suggested that Gail enter a duck-calling contest and asked his hunting buddies, Frank and Darryl Cates, to teach Gail the contest routine. Gail was introduced to Chick Major and he made all the duck calls that she used in competitions; Gail often competed against Chick’s family members but that didn’t stop Chick from mentoring her and Gail being great friends with Chick, his wife Sophie and their daughters, Pat, Brenda, and Dixie.
Gail won the Women’s State in Tennessee and also competed and placed in other contests such as Gulf Coast Championships. While competing around the South, Gail made friends with many well-known waterfowlers and callers like Butch Richenback, Cowboy Fernandez, and Herb Parsons. In 1959 and 1960, Gail competed in the World Championships in Stuttgart and won the Women’s World Championship both years.
Gail mostly retired from contests after having her daughter, Ann Camp Lee in 1961 but she still managed to win the Herb Parsons International Championship Contest in 1962.