WHITEHEAD: Gladys Anna
With loving family by her side, our dear Mom, Gladys Whitehead, passed from this earth peacefully in her home on Monday, May 26, 2014 at the age of 89. Mom was born on the Moen farm near Colonsay to Edward and Annie Moen. In the spring of 1940, the family moved to Choiceland where Ed had taken out a homestead. Mom attended school in Choiceland and helped her dad run the household and look after her younger siblings. In 1944, Mom returned to the Colonsay area to stay at the Chris and Eline Broten farm home and work as a cook. Soon, John Whitehead came courting and their romance flourished. Mom and Dad were married at the family home in Choiceland on December 27, 1946. They spent their wedding night in Nipawin, then took the train to Saskatoon to honeymoon at the Bessborough Hotel. They started married life living on the upstairs floor of the Whitehead farm house near Viscount with Jack and Elsie. Along came Larry in 1949, Sylvia in 1952 and David in 1956. Those years were busy and full of love, life and the challenges of the times. Mom was a wonderful mother, a great companion to Dad, an awesome cook and an exacting housekeeper. She helped Dad when she could with outside tasks such as hauling grain during harvest. The years went by and were filled with raising family, playing cards, visiting and hosting relatives, harvesting huge amounts of garden produce, raising chickens, sewing and making the best bread and cinnamon buns in the country. Mom and Dad loved to dance, were members of a square dance club in Saskatoon, and spent many a happy evening at Danceland in Watrous. Mom and Dad lived on the farm until their move to Saskatoon in October of 1997. Although they had previously owned a motor home, they joined the Saskatoon Good Sams Club and a whole new life opened up for them. They enjoyed several motorhome trips and campouts, but this phase of their life was shortened when Mom's health took a serious turn for the worse. After a 3 week stay in hospital she moved into Northern Lights Care Home in October of 2008. Mom and Dad were re-united when they moved into their current home together at Brightwater Senior Living in January of 2013. Mom, we love you to the moon and back, and you will be forever in our hearts. Gladys will be lovingly remembered by her husband, John, of 67 1/2 years; their children Larry (Sharon), Sylvia (Scott) and David (Maxine); 6 grandchildren Charity (Anders), Hollie (Paaren), Carla (Darrell), Cory (Tegan), Kevin (Amy) and Kim; 5 great-grandchildren Sofia, Cassidy, Emily, Matteo and Declan; sisters Lillian (Glenn), and Irene as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Gladys was predeceased by her parents Annie (née Hawrysh) and Ed Moen; step mother Clara (née Franson); siblings Olga, Alfred and Walter; father and mother-in-law Jack and Elsie (née Pearce) as well as numerous sisters and brothers-in-law, cousins, aunts and uncles. A Celebration of Gladys' Life was held on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at Hillcrest Funeral Home, Saskatoon. Family and friends may send online condolences at
