Gladys Iola (Mikesh) KRIVACHEK PALS SHAHAN

SHAHAN, MIKESH, KRIVACHEK, PANNHOFF, PALS, ZASPEL, HAAN, DWYER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/27/2013 at 13:04:30

November 13, 1917 ---- March 28, 2013

BELMOND — Gladys I. Shahan, age 95, of Belmond, Iowa, passed away Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Oklahoma. Memorial visitation will begin at 1 p.m. today, Wednesday, May 22, at Dugger Funeral Home, 111 Luick's Lane South in Belmond. An informal memorial service for Gladys I. Shahan will be held at 2 p.m. and casual dress is requested. Pastor Janet Rieckhoff-Ferris will officiate. A reception will follow at the VFW Hall downtown Belmond.

Gladys Iola Shahan was born to her parents, Charles and Kathlyn Mikesh, on a farm near Goodell, Iowa, on November 13, 1917. She attended country school in the Goodell area. At an early age due to the Depression Era she and her sister, Grace, went to work as farm helpers for room and board. Gladys lived in the Goodell, Belmond, and Rowan area all of her life except for a brief time while married to Edward Krivachek. During their marriage they lived in Oakland, Calif., and San Francisco, Calif., and later at Humboldt, Iowa, and Lake Cornelia, Iowa. They had two sons, Charles and Ronald. After returning to live in Iowa the couple was divorced in 1948 and Gladys lived on the Mikesh family farm in Hickory Grove. During World War II, Gladys worked at a rope factory to support the war. She also became an active member of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and prior to her passing was the oldest member of the Belmond Chapter. The Shahan family farm was located next to the Mikesh family farm at Hickory Grove. In 1949, Gladys was married to Edwin R. Shahan. They began their marriage living on the hill in Belmond in a small house and had two children, Kathlyn and Edwin, Jr. Later they purchased a house from a farmer near Fort Dodge and moved it into town on the hill where they resided until 1959. They moved to an acreage south of Rowan that had the Iowa River running through it with the Old Mill Dam, the old stagecoach road along the river and several flowing wells. People loved to drive through there and enjoyed the fishing, the water and the beautiful view.

Gladys was a very capable woman. She milked cows, did all kinds of farm chores, tended to numerous gardens, canned vegetables, fruit, meat and poultry. She made head cheese when cattle were butchered. She made an annual event of chopping cabbage, salting and prepping it for sauerkraut. Gladys loved her farm animals oftentimes naming them and making it nearly impossible to sell or butcher. She also loved her pets: parakeets, canaries, cats, and dogs. Gladys was also a seamstress. She sewed all of the shirts and dresses for her family until clothing became affordable by all. She frequently sewed curtains, pillowcases, towels and potholders. Whatever was needed she sewed or made.

Gladys was very proud of her work as a charge nurse at the Dows Golden Acres nursing home. She worked there for ten years and especially enjoyed helping the residents living there. Gladys loved her garden. She loved growing seedlings and preparing for the garden event of spring all through the winter season. She expressed many times while working the soil with her bare hands in her garden that this was where she felt closest to God. In addition to gardening, she loved growing raspberries and strawberries. She regularly prepared delicious jams and jellies from just about any berry or fruit. Gladys was the mainstay of family events nearly every Sunday and holiday on the farm in Rowan. Our Uncle Dickie Pannhoff blessed the family with music from his one-man band. Gladys always had a roast, chicken or turkey supplemented by casserole dishes from those attending. Both sides of the family and even neighbors would join together in this way on Sundays.

Gladys and Edwin were married for nearly 45 years until his passing in 1995. They had sold the farm in Rowan, lived for a short time on Lake Cornelia, and then bought a house on the hill where Gladys resided until recently.

At the age of 80, came a beautiful blessing when Gladys and Pete Pals, Jr. who also lived at Hickory Grove were united in marriage. They enjoyed eight wonderful years together until Pete passed away in 2008. Gladys adored her family making sure every brother and sister, child, grandchild, niece and nephew knew they were remembered on their birthday or holiday. Gladys cherished the times she had around her kitchen table with family and friends at tea time. Tea time occurred mid-morning, mid-afternoon and mid-evening. In the later years, it was mostly mid-afternoon. Most frequently the conversation was about the weather, gardening or something new happening in our town, state, or nation. Laughter frequently rang from the chatter and at times became heated depending on the topic. The tea was very tasty, but the time with friends and family was what she liked best.

Gladys lived her faith in God. During the 1950s she taught Sunday school to pre-school children at the Congregational Church in Belmond (previously located west of the new hospital). She was a member of the Methodist Church in Rowan and later in Goodell. Gladys was called home by the Lord on March 28, 2013, at her daughter's home in Tahlequah, Okla., with loved ones by her side. She was 95 years old. She passed very peacefully and naturally.

Gladys was preceded in death by many family members: her parents, two sisters, Grace Zaspel and Colina Haan; one brother, George Mikesh; and a son, Charles Krivachek. Those left to cherish her memory include: one brother, Charles Mikesh and his wife, Wanda; one sister-in-law, Emily Mikesh; and two sisters, Ruby Dwyer and Constance Roley; daughter, Dr. Kathlyn M. Shahan (Tahlequah, Okla.); sons, Ronald L. Shahan and wife, Linda (Indianola, Iowa) and Edwin R. Shahan, Jr. and wife, Nancee, St. Louis; eleven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren; as well as, many nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends and loved ones. Dugger Funeral Home, Belmond.

Globe Gazette -- Mason City, Iowa
May 22, 2013