Gladys was born in 1925 at the farm in Venn, the second child of John and Hertha Harding. There she and her three brothers (Vern, Leslie, and Gordon) were raised. At 21 she was cooking for a crew and met Ole Anderson, whom she married in 1947. The two worked on road crews for a few years – Gladys cooking, Ole hauling water – then eventually settled in Venn, where they raised their 9 children.
Throughout her life, Gladys maintained a cheery disposition. She loved life and all things living. Her home was a magnet for all the kids in the neighbourhood. Without the benefit of running water, and for many of those years no electricity, she still found the time and patience to teach her children to read, entertained them with home–made games and spent countless hours by bedsides soothing fevers and watching over them.
Although not rich in material wealth, she was rich in character.
Gladys is pre-deceased by her husband Ole (1974), children Daniel (1972), Barry (2010), Shelly (2011), and by her brothers. She is survived by her children Lloyd, Carla (Calvin), Neil (Diane), Gail, Deborah (Eugene), and Christine (Joe), her daughter-in-law Cheryl (Barry), 13 grandchildren and many great grandchildren.
Gladys lived with breast cancer for many years, finally succumbing to it on August 17, 2013.
“When family chains are broken, nothing is the same. But as God takes us one by one, He links the chain again.”
For online condolences and Tributes please visit fotheringham-mcdougallfuneralservice.com.