Gladys M. McGill

Gladys McGill Obituary

Gladys M. McGill formerly of Arlington Heights Gladys M. McGill, 90, of St. Joseph, Mo., passed away Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at the Living Community of St. Joseph. She was born Jan. 3, 1918, in Harlingen, Texas, the daughter of Henry Alfred Nash and Martha Lee Nash (nee Peters). She worked as a registered nurse, having graduated from the Scott & White School of Nursing, Temple, Texas. Mrs. McGill was a first lieutenant with the Army Nurse Corps in the regular Army of the United States from June 24, 1941 until her separation Feb. 11, 1946. She was assigned to the 21st and 30th evacuation hospitals in the Asiatic Pacific Theater and worked under station and mobile field hospital setups. She was a charge nurse in medicine, surgery and neuropsychiatric wards. Battles and campaigns that she served in include, Southern Philippines, New Guinea and Luzon. She received many decorations and citations including, the American Theater Campaign Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars and a Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze Service Star. She was then a captain with the Army Nurse Corps in the Regular Army of the United States from June 24, 1948 to May 2, 1949. She had received 26 Foreign Service Credits as of Nov. 7, 1945. She belonged to the 509th Medical Group. On Feb. 14, 1949, she married Dr. Edwin M. McGill at the Base Chapel, Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Ariz. He preceded her in death on Jan. 29, 1996. Also preceding her in death were six brothers and two sisters. Gladys was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. Her hobbies included gardening, sewing and quilting. Survivors include her three children, Mary Susan McCoppin (Terry) of Kansas City Mo., Dr. Patricia Anne McGill (Dr. Lynn Kramer) of Denver Colo. and Michael Gerard McGill (Dr. Bridget Cosgrove McGill) of Dellwood Minn.; three grandchildren, Adam Michael Bolda (Amity Lippold Bolda) of St. Joseph, Megan Rose McGill of Dellwood and John Emerson McGill of Dellwood. Services will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, at Horigan Chapel in Mount Olivet Cemetery, under the direction of the Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel, St. Joseph. Entombment will be in Mount Olivet Mausoleum, St. Joseph. The room will be open to the public at 9 a.m. Friday, at the funeral chapel, where the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. that evening. A prayer service will be held at 6 p.m. The family suggests memorial contributions to Hands of Hope Hospice or the Living Community of St. Joseph. For information, 816-232-3355.

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Published by Daily Herald on Mar. 28, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for Gladys McGill

8 Entries

Linda (Neiderhauser) Wiggins

March 29, 2008

Mary,
I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your mother. I only met her a few times, but she was such a kind and memorable lady.....very much like you. My thoughts and prayers are with you, and your whole family.

Mike, Patty, Mary Sue The Children of Gladys

March 29, 2008

Eulogy for Gladys McGill from her Children

Gladys was born on January 3, 1918 and died on March 25, 2008. This 90-year journey took her to many places, where she had a wide variety of experiences.
Born in Harlingen, Texas, she saw many hard times as a child. She lost her father at an early age, and the family experienced tough challenges during the depression. Her older siblings worked to provide food for the family, and her wardrobe was a collection of homemade, hand-me-down clothes, worn thin with use.
She put herself through nursing school, and enlisted in the army during World War II. The military was a patriotic duty and a ticket out of poverty. She had a distinguished military career, serving many years as a nurse in the Pacific theatre. After the war, while still in the Army nurse corps, she married Dr. Ed McGill. Her years of distinguished service resulted in her attaining the rank of captain prior to leaving the Army.
Most of us here knew her only as a loving mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, aunt, or friend. She was a central figure in the family, and despite her quiet ways she was intelligent and compassionate, a healer, teacher, care-giver and role model. She seldom mentioned the years of hardship that she experienced during the depression, or the horrors of war that certainly affected her life in ways that we will never know. She was far too modest to believe that her accomplishments were unusual or exceptional, although they certainly were. While she was “tough as nails” as a result of her life experiences, to us she was a tender, loving homemaker with a quick smile and a good sense of humor—which remained with her till the very end. Nothing gave her more pleasure than spending time with her loved ones.
Gladys, everyone here was a special person to you. You were a certainly a special person to all of us, and an amazing individual by anyone’s standards. We love you, and we will miss you. We salute you and wish you well as leave us to join your loving husband, parents, and siblings, as you complete your journey.

Jody, Ron and Sons

March 28, 2008

Thinking of you ~ Adam , Amity and family of Grandma McGill.

Trevor Estes

March 28, 2008

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Adam Bolda

March 28, 2008

Dear Grandma,

Thirty two years ago I was blessed into this life and accepted by a wonderful family that you raised to have the biggest, warm, accepting hearts. I was always told of the stories of you driving across country in a cold, uncomfortable jeep in the middle of a blizzard just to be there with me when I was born. This is just one of the many examples of my life that you did whatever it took to be there for me. I have always believed in my heart that you loved me before you ever knew me. As I grew older it didn't take long to realize that the love you showed me is the same love you showed everyone that shared a moment of your life. From you I learned you should not judge people by the way they look, the job they do, but to love them as an equal person. Not only are you one of the pillars that supported the foundation of our family, you are a true American soldier and hero to our country. I am so proud of what you accomplished in your life and the service you provided to our country during your service in the military. It is because of you, that your family as well as all other Americans belong to a free country and are given the chance to live a prosperous life. The transition from your childhood of growing up in the depression having to guess where your next meal would come from, to an adult having accomplished so much that you were able to provide an upper middle class life to your family, shows proof to any outsider, it isn't what you are given, it is what you choose to do. Having made accomplishments like this, you never bragged, instead you would rather spend your time with your family and focus on them and their lives to make them become the best they can be. You have given me a mother that is absolutely one of my best friends, an aunt that has loved me as her own child and an uncle that means as much to me as a father. I thought my world had crashed to an end twelve years ago when grandpa died. But today, I have truly felt the affects of the foundation of our lives being shifted to us you have shown to be strong. I undoubtedly will pass the strength and the love you given me to my kids one day to treat the world with the respect it deserves.

Thank you for always loving me, smiling and caring.

Thank you for loving my wife as a grandmother of her own.

Thank you for changing the plans of your retirement and the golden years of your life to want no more than to move here to be with me.

Thank you for doing whatever it took to teach me the basic lessons of life.

Thank you for always accepting everyone and treating them with kindness.

It is because of you, I am the successful person I am today and able to feel the impact of such a huge loss in my life.

Thanks for letting me hold your hand when you left this life to begin a new one in heaven.

I know you and grandpa will forever be with me to give me strength whenever I need it.

I will always love and miss youâ€¦.Adam

Peggy Evans

March 28, 2008

I will always remember Gladys and her gentle spirit. Thank you for sharing her with us!

Mary Schrom Breese

March 28, 2008

I will never forget Gladys' smile the morning of the day she died, sitting with her, holding her hand, hearing her say she wished she would hurry up and die and, yet, in the midst of all that, asking me how I was. All of us here at Living Community loved Gladys and we shall miss her so much.

Joyce Cadwallader

March 28, 2008

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

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