Larsen, Gladys June (1920-2017)

LARSEN, KRUSE, CARLBERG, HOFFMAN, GIBBS, SCHULZ

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 7/19/2017 at 17:59:02

Gladys June Larsen
October 7, 1920 - July 6, 2017

Gladys June Larsen (Kruse), age 96, passed away on July 6, 2017, in Alexandria, Minnesota, at the Knute Nelson Care Center. A life-long resident of the Alta-Storm Lake communities, she, nonetheless, moved closer to her family in Minnesota in 2010 to Nelson Gables, an assisted living facility. Then, she moved into the Knute Nelson Care Center last December as her needs required.

Gladys was born on Oct. 7, 1920, to Charlotte (Carlberg) and Axel Kruse on a farm north of Alta, Iowa. She attended Fairview Consolidated School and later graduated from Alta High School in 1938. In 1939, she graduated from Sioux City Beauty Academy and took her first job in Denison, Iowa, where she met and married the “love of her life”, James Larsen, on April 12, 1943. After Jim returned home from World War II, they settled first in Storm Lake, then, later Alta, Iowa, where they raised their two daughters, Linda and Nancy. Gladys owned and operated a beauty shop in Storm Lake for thirty years, retiring in 1982 because of Jim’s failing health.

In her earlier years, Gladys loved to bowl, golf, garden, and feed the squirrels and birds. A life-long member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta as well as an active participant in the Ruth women’s group, she would help with various workshops and volunteering activities. She was a charter member of the Alta Chapter O.E.S. #138 Eastern Star. In addition, she found joy in her retiring years in “We Care” (grief support for spouses).

Preceding Gladys in death were her parents, Charlotte (Carlberg) Kruse and Axel S. Kruse; her husband, Jim (1989); her brother, Kenneth Kruse (1992); her sisters, Louise Kruse (1952) and Lucille Witt (1994); her son-in-law, Edmund Silver (2016); as well as several extended family members.

Gladys’ survivors include her two daughters, Linda (David) Hoffman and Nancy (Ed, deceased) Silver; four grandchildren, Sean (Ann) Silver, Scott (Neysa) Silver, Megan (Jeff) Hoffman Gibbs, and Jenn (Eric) Hoffman Schulz; six great-grandchildren, Abigail, Anthony, Camden, and Isaiah Silver and Maggie and D.J. Gibbs; her sister-in-law, Janice Kruse, of Spirit Lake, Iowa; as well as many loving extended family members and friends nation-wide. This lady made new friends wherever she ventured her whole life long!

A woman of faith, Gladys will be long remembered for her engaging smile, her devotion to her family and friends, and the enjoyment she found in living each day. She was truly the epitome of “a lady”!

A memorial service will be held for Gladys at Trinity Lutheran Church, Alta, Iowa, on July 15, 2017. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m., the Funeral service, at 11:00 a.m.; followed by a luncheon in the church basement. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church, Alta, Iowa.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta oversaw the arrangements.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Alta, Iowa, 2017.

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