Her mother died in 1923. In 1926, she began caring for a girl, Leslyn, who was a relative. She formally adopted her in 1931. On June 12, 1928, at the age of 54, she married William L. Breese, who was a platonic friend from her childhood and a widower. He was a wealthy banker and hosiery manufacturer. They lived in a house on MacFarlane Road in Portage after their marriage. She became a step mother to William's daughter, Juliette Blackman Breese, who married Cecil Bennett in 1930. Her father died in 1929. She became interested in philosophy after the death of her parents. She enjoyed travel to California, New York, Japan and other places. Gale, a frequent visitor to the Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside, California, became a friend of Frank Augustus Miller, the founder of the hotel. Death and legacy Gale came to Chicago in mid-December 1938 for treatment of an ailment and contracted pneumonia about December 20. She died of pneumonia in Passavant Hospital in Chicago on December 27. Dr. Glenn Frank, former president of the University of Wisconsin, presided over her funeral. She was buried at Silver Lake Cemetery in Portage. Most of her estate of $60,000 () went to Leslyn, age 12, and Juliette. Leslyn was to receive Gale's personal effects and the Zona Gale house upon her marriage. Juliette was bequeathed another house. Some money was set aside for the Zona Gale scholarships. William Breese died on October 1, 1954 at the age of 90. By the time of Breese's death, Leslyn married Robert Keie of Saginaw, Michigan. In her memory, William Breese established the Zona Gale Breese Library in Portage. He donated two houses, one of which was the Zona Gale house that went to the Women's Civic League. The performing arts center in Portage was named after her. A historic marker at Commerce Plaza Park in Portage memorializes her life. Beginning in 2020, Gale became a semi-frequent topic of discussion on The Headgum Podcast. Bibliography Novels Romance Island (1906) Christmas: A Story (1912) Heart's Kindred (1915) A Daughter of the Morning (1917) Birth (1918) Miss Lulu Bett (1920) Faint Perfume (1923) Preface to Life (1926) Borgia (1929) Papa La Fleur (1933) Light Woman (1937) Magna (1939) Short stories "The Loves of Pelleas and Etarre" (1907) "Friendship Village" (1908) "Friendship Village Love Stories" (1909) "Mothers to Men" (1911) "When I Was a Little Girl"