“0 Earth! Thou hast not any wind that blows
Which is not music; every weed of thine
Pressed -rightly flows in aromatic wine.
And every humble hedge~row flower that grows,
And every little brown bird that doth sing,
Hath something greater than itself, and bears
A living word to every living thing,
Albeit it hold the message unawares.”
J.R. Miller
Gladys was born in Vancouver in 1949. She was the 3rd daughter in what would be 6 girls culminating with 1 son. She attended Sir Charles Tupper School where she excelled in arts and drama, graduating in 1967. Her graduating class commissioned her to do an oil painting portrait of Sir Charles Tupper, it hangs in the school foyer.
As a young woman, Gladys was passionate about being an artist. She explored all mediums of art, finding expression first in oils, then later in pastels. She loved the great artists and made reproductions of Rembrandt and da Vinci. She attended Vancouver Art School briefly, leaving because she was already an avid artist who knew her skills and only needed her subjects. She travelled and her youth was filled with adventure. Often
hitch-hiking and sometimes without money she visited Europe twice. It was during her second trip to Europe she met Joe on a perfect beach in Arenys de Mar, Spain. Several trips from Vancouver to N. Andover, Massachusetts and one trip to India and SE Asia ended with marriage and the decision to make the West Coast their home in 1976. Gladys and Joe were blessed with sons, Jesse and Luke.
In 1986 Gladys and her family moved to Courtenay and built a home near Kitty Coleman Creek. From there she continued her painting, finding inspiration from nature and the seasons, raising her children, growing her beautiful gardens and becoming famous for her braided breads.
Gladys loved the beauty she found in the world and she revealed that beauty through her art and being. She was smiling, caring and full of wonder. She kept the doors to her home open and those who came were well fed and welcomed. She was a tactician when it came to cards, was stubborn until the end and loved a good argument.
Gladys leaves behind her siblings Noreen, Rae, Gwyneth, Cathy and Alan, husband Joseph, her sons Jesse (Chelsea) and Luke (Robyn), her grandchildren Alexis (who is with her now in heaven), Kylie, Taeia, Owen, Zoe and countless other family and friends that she has loved and affected.
A service was held on Wednesday April 10th at Christ the King Church.