Gladys I. Hedquist

Gladys Hedquist, 98, passed on to a brighter world on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. While her body may have given out, her mind and positive spirit never did. An inspiration to many, Gladys touched lives through her wisdom, knowledge, love and genuine interest in others. Throughout her life, faith and family remained priorities.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2020 at the Mohr and Becker-Hunt Funeral Home in South Sioux City, Nebraska followed by a luncheon. Burial will be at the Dakota City Cemetery at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning prior to services. Visitation will start at 10:00 a.m. with family present at the funeral home.

A lifelong SSC resident, Gladys acquired a wealth of local-history knowledge, writing about and sharing memories of early days. Her own birth started out historically enough. On Jan. 5, 1922, Dr. Daniel Stidworthy, a Dakota County pioneer, drove his horse and buggy from Homer to South Sioux City to deliver her. The proud parents were Thomas and Edith (Sundt) Allaway.

Gladys loved school, graduating from SSC High in 1940. She would instill that love of education in her 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

After high school, Gladys landed a good job at the Dakota County Courthouse in Dakota City, moonlighting at the Sioux Theatre in SSC. There, Gladys met a cute guy in uniform: Arnold “Swede” Hedquist in his Northern Natural Gas Company work attire. Soon a couple, they enjoyed chilly rides in Swede’s old jalopy—a car with no floorboards. Then, WWII required Swede to switch to an Army uniform and head to Fort Ord in California for training. While home on leave, he and Gladys eloped in Pender, NE, on Nov. 12, 1942, keeping the marriage secret to keep her job secure (men had priority over married women in those days).

Once she saved money, Gladys announced the marriage and left to join Swede in Monterey. When he shipped out, she returned to SSC, soon joined by baby Ann Marlene who wouldn’t see her dad until she was almost 2 years old.

After the war, four more kids followed: Linda, Janet, Lance and Wendy. And Gladys was truly “the wind beneath their wings.” Although she never drove and Swede worked shifts, Gladys saw to it that the family attended church, and she managed to attend school and church functions. While often unofficial, her volunteer roles were many, ranging from baking treats for functions (which she enjoyed) to sewing pep squad outfits (which she didn’t) to serving as an Election Day volunteer (which she did for herself).

Even though times were sometimes tight, the Hedquist kids never felt poor when they sat at the table for a tasty meal in their clean, comfortable house. As the kids went one by one to college, Gladys was happy to supplement the family’s income. She especially enjoyed working at South Sioux’s old Corner Store, where she was nonfoods manager.

As her children married, her family expanded, adding 10 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. Gladys made it a point to send birthday and holiday cards to each family member. Often, these would contain handwritten notes and newspaper clippings about their interests and activities.

Family members and others loved their talks with Gr-Grandma Gladys. She was a ready resource on growing up in South Sioux City, especially during the Depression, major floods and WWII. An avid reader, she stayed on top of archaeological/historical discoveries—and the latest Hollywood scandal. Gladys followed sports, kept up with Siouxland news and watched SSC Council meetings on the local-access channel. Her daily crossword helped keep her mind sharp, as did a mix of TV shows, ranging from “Gunsmoke” to “Ancient Aliens.”

It’s no surprise that Gladys was first pick for family trivia games.

Gladys loved collecting angels, penguins and rocks. Especially rocks. She picked up many of her own rocks, minerals and fossils, supplemented by “rock gifts” from others.

Osteoporosis forced Gladys to use a walker, macular degeneration gradually stole her sight, and her hearing faltered, but she didn’t feel sorry for herself. When asked how she was doing, she often replied, “Well, I can’t walk, I can’t see, and I can’t hear, but other than that, I’m fine!”

Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, husband Swede, daughter Ann Marlene, grandson-in-law Alberto Flores and siblings Harold Allaway, Eileen (Allaway) Moore, Margie (Allaway) Shaffer and Donald Allaway.

Those who remain to share memories of Gladys are:

Children

—Son-in-law Don Bailey, widower of Ann Marlene (Hedquist) Bailey, York, NE

—Daughter Linda (Hedquist) and Dick Chaillie, Omaha, NE

—Daughter Janet (Hedquist) and Steve Rohde, Brush, CO

—Son Lance and Jean Hedquist, South Sioux City, NE

—Daughter Wendy (Hedquist) Bartlett and Mike Gray, Littleton, CO

Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren

—Ty and Donna Bailey, Sarah, Ruth and Jack, Garland, TX

—Bret and Kim Bailey, Ashton and Bryant, Lincoln, NE

—Kari (Chaillie) and Brian McGarry, Skylar, Connor, Dillon and Ava, Omaha, NE

—Kathi (Chaillie) and Jeff Scherzberg, Sabrina and Garrett, Omaha, NE

—John and Jane Chaillie, Pace, Anna and Reid, Leon, IA

—Kimberly (Rohde) and Todd Warner, Daniel and Alexandria, Loveland, CO

—Amy (Rohde) Flores, Summer and Jairus, Severance, CO

—Chris and Misty Hedquist, Ashley and Ryan, South Sioux City, NE

—Nicholas Hedquist, Washington, D.C.

—Laura Bartlett, Centennial, CO, and her dad Bob Bartlett.

Gladys also treasured her many nieces and nephews, including SSC residents Patricia (Moore) Porter and Dennis Moore.