Pearl Gladwell

VISITATION:

4-7 p.m., Thursday, September 12 and 12-1 p.m., Friday, September 13 at Pederson-Volker Funeral Chapel.

SERVICE:

1 p.m., Friday, September 13 at Pederson-Volker Funeral Chapel.

Pearl E. Gladwell, 100, a longtime resident of Chippewa Falls and the town of Lafayette, died Monday, September 9, 2013 at Cornell Area Care Center in Cornell.

She was born August 22, 1913, in Stanley to William W. and Ella Mae (Tinker) Tusken.

She was still very young when they moved to Spring Green, Wisconsin, and then to Eau Claire. At the age of seven, she moved with her family to a farm in the town of Sigel, Chippewa County, where she attended elementary school.

Pearl graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in 1931. In her high school year book, she was described by her classmates as A right good lassie through and through her merits are many and her faults are few, an attribute she hoped to retain through the years. She also attended State Teachers College in Eau Claire for one year and did some substitute teaching in Eau Claire County.

Pearl married Alvin Gladwell on June 5, 1937, and they lived in the township of Lafayette. In the early 40s, she worked at the Ordnance Plant in the town of Hallie, where small parts were being made for the military. The plant was later taken over by Western Electric Co., and she worked there as a lay-out operator.

In 1947, she started working for Sears Catalog Sales Office in Chippewa Falls as a clerk, freight checker and later as a teletype operator when that service was added. After 25 years at Sears, she worked two years as secretary for the Chippewa County Sheriffs Dept. She retired in 1973, and she and her husband moved to Chetek for five years, and then back to the town of Lafayette.

While living in Chetek, she was able to take advantage of numerous travel tours to visit points of interest in various states. She took a trip to Russia in the mid-70s with her brother and a group of college students. Among the sights, seeing Red Square, visiting several beautiful museums, Opera Ballet, and by bus with a local guide naming facts and sights as they toured some of the outer countryside.

Pearl and her husband enjoyed gardening and other outdoor activities and to also enjoy a bit more before retirement, they spent many weekends in the Gordon area in northwest Wisconsin fishing, berry picking, having pig roasts together with friends or having a family get together when possible. They also enjoyed their annual spring trip to Ashland for smelting.

In 1999, she and her husband moved to the Chippewa Manor Retirement Center.

She was a longtime member of Trinity United Methodist Church and United Methodist Women.

Survivors include her daughter, Joan Thompson of Siler City, N.C.; a brother, Lewis (Sally) Tusken of Oshkosh; a sister, Janet Domiano of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and a sister-in-law, Mae Ryan of Chippewa Falls. She is further survived by three grandchildren, Cynthia (Terence) Harper of Snellville, Ga., Steve (Vivian) Thompson of Cadott, Ellen Hutchison of Siler City, N.C.; three great-grandchildren, Katherine and Hayden Thompson and Eric Harper.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Alvin on March 5, 2000; a brother, Earl Tusken; a sister, Josephine Frion; twin brother and sister, Ray and Ruth Tusken in infancy; a half-brother, John Tusken; and a half-sister, Marjorie Adler.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, September 13 at Pederson-Volker Funeral Chapel, Chippewa Falls with Rev. Terri Koca of Trinity United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will be in Prairie View Cemetery, village of Lake Hallie.

Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m., Thursday and one hour prior to the service Friday at the funeral chapel.

The family would like to thank the staff at Cornell Area Care Center for the wonderful care that Pearl received over the past two years.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Pearls memory may be directed to Trinity United Methodist Church.

AFTERSERVICE:

A funeral service for Pearl E. Gladwell, 100, of Chippewa Falls, was held at 1 p.m., Friday, September 13 at Pederson-Volker Funeral Chapel, Chippewa Falls. The Rev. Terri Koca of Trinity United Methodist Church, Chippewa Falls officiated and music was provided by Judy Brist. Interment followed at Prairie View Cemetery, village of Lake Hallie. Casket bearers were Don Wolfe, Larry Ryan, Steven and Hayden Thompson, Lyle Krumenauer and Terence Harper.