Obituary of Edith McGladdery

BIOGRAPHY MCGLADDERY ~ Edith Viola McGladdery passed away peacefully at the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre, Lloydminster, Alberta on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at the age of 91 years. Edith is survived by three children: Lorraine and Blaine Person of Vermilion, Brian and Jean McGladdery of Lethbridge and Donna and Randy Smith of Lloydminster; ten grandchildren: Victoria Person and Joo-han Cha of Calgary, Heather and Arif Ansari of Calgary, Sheila Person of Toronto and Geoffrey Person of Toronto, Dionne and Matte Lavers of Lethbridge, Sean McGladdery of Lethbridge, Shandra and Rod Pruden of Edmonton, Angela and James Holmedal of Calgary, Pam and Sheldon Minish of Lloydminster, Matt and Jeness Smith of Lloydminster; fourteen great grandchildren; two sisters, Irene Yeoman and Doreen Plews as well as numerous other relatives. The funeral service for Edith was conducted from the Grace United Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Monday, December 17 at 2:00 P.M. with Mary Royal and Joyce Carson officiating. A eulogy was given by Ross Plews. A tribute to Grandma was given by Geoffery Person. Hymns sung were “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, “In The Garden”, “Whispering Hope” and “How Great Thou Art”. Grace United Church Choir sang “In The Bulb There Is A Flower”. Honorary pallbearers were Kay Fournier, Betty Findlay, Irene Waring, Muriel Knowlson, Marjorie Brooks, Dorothy Morgan, Ann Campbell and Order Of Eastern Star. Active pallbearers were Terry Crush, Jim Kenyon, Don Graham, Les Graham, Ross Graham and Jim Sinfield. Interment was held at the Lloydminster City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy Edith Viola Scott was born in Wawota, Saskatchewan on November 3, 1916 to Frederick Nichol Scott and Isabella McQueen. She was the second oldest among behind Victor, and was followed by Ilene, Irene and Doreen. Soon after she was born Fred built a small house in Learig district and moved the family into their new home. All five Scott children attended Learig School. She was left handed in a right handed world. Her teacher was determined that she should use her right hand but Edith was determined to use her left hand. Every time the teacher’s back was turned, she would switch back to her left hand. Music played a large part in the Scott house. Grandpa Scott made her brother Victor a half-sized violin to practice on. After Victor died, Grandpa Scott hung his and Victor’s violins on a wall in the barn. Edith and her sisters would take the violins down and play with them when Grandpa Scott was away. One day, he caught Edith playing Victor’s violin. She was certain that she was in terrible trouble, but the experience turned Grandpa Scott back on to music. He bought Edith a violin of her own, and Irene and Ilene received Hawaiian guitars. After a great deal of practice, the Scott Orchestra was born with the girls playing and singing. The band was a success during the hard years of the Depression. Grandpa Scott and the girls played to great acclaim for many years at dances for many events around the area – including her future home of Lone Rock. Edith worked at a local farm during the years before World War II. When some of their family moved to Toronto early in the war, Edith followed them and took a job at the Lancaster factory in Malton. She was proud of her war effort, and often spoke of witnessing the christening of the first Lancaster bomber. Dave McGladdery, a friend she had known in the Marsden area and who had worked on the Scott farm, was stationed in Atlantic Canada. The two began a courtship and married in January, 1943. Through a stroke of luck, Dave was with Edith in Toronto when the two heard of the end of the war. Edith remembered the occasion as ‘a happy day’. Following his release from the Air Force, the two moved back to Saskatchewan and settled in Lone Rock, where Dave bought the Metcalf store and garage. It was here where they raised their three children, Lorraine, Brian and Donna. The children have fond memories of picnics at the battle river. Edith and Dave were involved with every organization in Lone Rock. Edith’s involvement with the Eastern Star, Ladies Auxilary, and the United Church Women came with her total involvement during her time in Lone Rock. As well as these organizations, both Dave and Edith attended many dances, dinners, and performances in the area. As the family grew with the addition of Lorraine, Brian, and Donna, Edith joined committees and organizations, such as Brownies, that accompany children. Edith and Dave worked as a team to run their businesses – the garage, store, and eventually the SGI insurance office. She was comfortable tackling any job that needed to be done and would work in the house behind the store, then run up to the store in the front to help customers, pump gas, or even change a tire. As their family grew up, Edith’s involvement moved to sewing graduation and wedding gowns, baking and decorating wedding cakes, and cooking for the dinners that accompany these celebrations. Once Donna, Brian and Lorraine had moved out, Edith and Dave started making preparations for their retirement. They sold their business and Dave was offered a job repairing small motors with Husky. Dave was happy to have found a job doing something he enjoyed. Not long after, Dave was diagnosed with cancer and died within a few months in 1978. For over twenty years, Edith remained an active contributor to Lone Rock’s life. In addition to her longtime involvement with Eastern Star, UCW, and the Ladies’ Auxiliary, she also took up golf and bowling. Edith took excellent care of her Pontiac LeMans, and took pride in driving to see family and her many friends around the area. Edith was grateful to her many friends in Lone Rock for ensuring that she was well taken care and included in so many activities. Edith reluctantly left Lone Rock. It was a great surprise for her to find that her new neighbor in Lloydminster was an old friend – a happy coincidence that eased her transition into a new home. This same coincidence was repeated when she moved into the Dr. Cooke Nursing Home when she was reacquainted with many past friends and where she spent her final years. Edith McGladdery was a strong woman. Every person who knew her was touched by her kindness and generosity, and her varied skills and talents contributed to building each community she lived in. Edith is survived by her sisters Irene Yeoman and Doreen Plews, her daughters Donna Smith and Lorraine Person, her son Brian McGladdery, her ten grandchildren, her fourteen great-grandchildren, her numerous nieces and nephews and her many friends. Card of Thanks The family of Edith McGladdery would like to thank Dr. DuPlooy for his wonderful care for Mom over the last few years and all the staff in the palliative care unit at the Dr. Cooke for the tender care shown to Mom in her last days. Thank you to Mary Royal and Joyce Carson for the lovely service; to the organist Irene Knowlson and the United Church Choir for the beautiful music; to Ross Plews and Geoffery Person for the touching tribute to Mom and to the United Church women for the beautiful lunch. A special thank you to all of the pallbearers and honorary pallbearers, you meant a lot to mom through out her life! Also thanks to Patty and Elaine at Nutters for the delicious supper you made for us! Thank you to everyone for their prayers, visits, food, flowers, cards and donations to the Lloydminster Handivan. Lastly the family would like to thank all of the staff at McCaw’s funeral home for their outstanding service. Glenn, you truly are an angel in the time of sorrow! Your kindness will never be forgotten. Lorraine, Donna, Brian and Families Donations may be made to the Lloydminster Handivan Society or Charity of Choice.