Gladys I. Skaar

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
GLADYS I. SKAAR

BORN
April 29, 1902
Gilman. Iowa

PASSED AWAY
November 2, 2010
Primghar, Iowa

AGE
108 years 6 months 3 days

FUNERAL SERVICE
1:00 P.M. Saturday, November 6, 2010
Grace Lutheran Church; Primghar, Iowa
CLERGY
Rev. S. Kim Peterson & Rev. Trudy A. Peterson

Visitation will be on Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 from 4 to 7 P.M. with the family present at the Gaudian-Eldridge Funeral Home in Primghar.

CONGREGATIONAL HYMNS
Pg. 293 “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less”
Pg. 327 “Rock Of Ages
Pg. 448 “Amazing Grace”
Organist: Donna Struve


CASKET BEARERS
Jon Skaar Daniel Skaar
Tim Skaar Tom Skaar
Matthew Janney Richard Kordick

FINAL RESTING PLACE
Prairie View Cemetery
Paullina, Iowa

After the graveside service relatives and friends are invited to join the family in the fellowship hall of the church.

Arrangements under the care of the
Gaudian-Eldridge Funeral Home Primghar, Iowa
GLADYS IRENE HAGEN SKAAR

Gladys Irene Hagen Skaar was born April 29, 1902 on a farm near Gilman, Iowa in Marshall County to Svein Hagen and Eliana Rosedale. She was their sixth child. Nearby, were Eliana’s father, Sigburn Rosedale and step-mother, Julia and the Stavanger Meeting House which was the center of the Norwegian Quaker Community. In 1910, Gladys moved with her family to the farm near Gaza in O’Brien County, IA. Traveling all day by train with all their possessions and live stock must have been an adventure. Here they found Norwegian Quakers who had made the move west earlier and the Skaars. Just a quarter of a mile down the hill lived another large Norwegian family, the Skaars, with which they became so intertwined that they almost became one. On April 16, 1921, eighteen year old Gladys traveled to Sheldon, IA in Ben Skaar’s Model T to marry. Her sister, Thea and Ben’s cousin, Amos Mehling were their witnesses.
The couple lived on the Skaar home farm until 1929, while Ben farmed with his father. A son, Elroy Spencer was born on February 12, 1922 and a son, Gene Burdette was born March 23, 1926. In 1929, they purchase a farm from Noble McDonald a half mile north and east of Gaza. Here they farmed through the upheaval of the Great Depression and World War II. Gladys joined Siloam Lutheran Church in 1938, but maintained her Quaker principles. No guns or alcohol were allowed in her house. A son, Harlan Jay was born August 21, 1941. Elroy left for college and the seminary while Gene farmed with his Dad for a while and then continued his education. In 1956, Ben and Gladys moved to Paullina. Ben died in 1959. Gladys built a new house in Primghar and moved there in 1962. That remained Gladys’s home, until “those boys” who fixed her car so that it wouldn’t run, moved her to the Primghar Care Center in 1998. Gladys lived the “healthy” life before it was popular. Plenty of exercise (work), family and friends to enjoy, a low fat diet, an optimistic outlook, a good sense of humor. When meeting a new younger daughter-in-law, she remarked, that it was better to be an old man’s treasure than a young man’s slave. She had strong convictions and opinions but was tolerant of others. She was proud of her family. She is the last of the Skaar and Hagen families of Gaza.
She is survived by daughter-in-law, Lois in Sioux Falls; her sons, Gene (Eleanor) in Mesa, AZ; Harlan (Shirley) in Spearfish, SD; and 8 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and 4 great-great grand children.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Ben; a granddaughter, Peggy Jean; and a son, Elroy.