GLADYS MARIA GONZALEZ

1915 - 2011

Gladys Maria Gonzalez, 95, of Mount Vernon, Washington, passed away on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at Mira Vista Care Center in Mount Vernon.

She was born on June 20, 1915 in San Ramon, Costa Rica, the eldest daughter of Estela Mora and Ismael Aglietti.

Gladys was born into a very musical family. She and her two sisters, Berenice and Moraima and her two deceased brothers, Franklin and Noro played several instruments including the piano, organ, and violin. Gladys had a beautiful voice and along with her sister, Berenice, sang in the church choir since their youth.

At a very young age, Gladys married Dagoberto Gonzalez and formed a family with their three children, Jorge Luis, Alfredo and Yadira.

Gladys was a very positive and happy person, always smiling and making others feel good. She loved to participate in activities at the Church of Saint Charles in Burlington and to lead many to a closer relationship with God. Gladys was always a tremendous teacher and an inspiration to her students.

Gladys' love for teaching also led her to teach Spanish to American missionaries in the Language School of San Jose, Costa Rica, and in the United States she taught Spanish conversation in workshops at Wichita State University. She held private lessons at her home and was always ready to help others practice their Spanish.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers; her husband of 66 years, Dagoberto; and her eldest son, Jorge Luis of Naranjo, Costa Rica.

Surviving Gladys is Reverend Alfredo Gonzalez and his wife Luisa of Columbia, South Carolina; her daughter, Yadira Young of Guemes Island; grandchildren, Sally Bloom, Susan Ferro, and Jorge Gonzalez of Florida, and Joe and Fred Gonzalez of South Carolina as well as Melody Young of Guemes Island; 11 great grandchildren; 1 great, great grandson; 2 sisters in Costa Rica; and many other close friends and family members that dearly called Gladys, Lalais.

Memorial donations in Gladys name may be given to Saint Charles Catholic Church Hispanic Ministeries.

The family would like to thank Mira Vista Care Center and its excellent personnel for the great care they gave Gladys during the last three years. The family would also like to greatly thank her religious family at Saint Charles Catholic Church for all their love and care at her funeral which took place at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, January 22, 2011.

Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Inc., Anacortes, WA and the San Juan Islands. To share memories of Gladys, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel.com