Memorial services are being held on two dates. If possible, please announce your intention to attend. Thank you for your courtesy, sharing, and correspondence. A reception will follow the service and we would love to see you there. Contact information is shown below.

• October 15, 2023, 1:30pm, Touchmark at Fairway Village, 2909 SE Village Loop, Vancouver, Washington.

• 2:00pm, Nov 4, 2023, Zion Lutheran Church, 2745 NW Harrison Blvd, Corvallis, Oregon.

Please arrive early for seating.

Gladys Mae Meier, maiden name Schmidt, 93, resident of Vancouver, Washington, and residing in the Senior Living Retirement Commuity of Touchmark at Fairway Village, Vancouver, Washington, died on September 4, 2023 (Labor Day). Gladys was expressing this past year that she was ready and waiting to go Home to be with her Heavenly Father. Her favorite saying was, "Let Go, and Let God." It was fitting and timely that God took her Home from the labors of declining health on Labor Day.

Gladys was born in Corvallis, Oregon on November 13, 1929. She was preceded in death by her husband, Sheldon Martin Meier, in February 2009. Gladys' older sister was Mildred (Kraft), born on 10-13-1921, and older brother was Clarence Schmidt, born on May 17, 1925.

Gladys is survived by son Gary Meier (Diane), Vancouver, Washington, daughter Denise Weinel, Gladstone, Oregon, and son Jack Meier (Daris), Searcy, Arkansas. Surviving Grandchildren are Todd Meier (Angie Assa), Vancouver, Washington, Stacy Kline (Andrew), Soldotna, Alaska, Tara Johnson (Todd), Benton, Arkansas, and Brian Meier (Courtney), Jonesboro, Arkansas. Surviving Great Grandchildren are, Bethany Rutledge (Dylan), Callie Johnson, and Nate Johnson, all of Benton, Arkansas, and Avery Meier, Dyllan Meier, and Skylar Meier, all of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Surviving Great Great Grandchildren are twins Paisley Mae and Sadie Grace Rutledge born in 2022, and brother Hudson Jay Rutledge born in August 2023, all of Benton, Arkansas.

Dad (Sheldon) and Mom (Gladys) were classmates at Zion Lutheran School in Corvallis in the 1930's. We have an amazing outdoor photo of their class.

Dad loved softball and baseball, and he is shown with a baseball bat in the school picture noted above. He played on Zion's coed softball team into his 70's.

Zion Lutheran Church and School was founded in 1905 and many of our family and relatives have attended Zion School. It is still in operation.

Gladys married Sheldon Meier at Zion Lutheran Church in Corvallis, Oregon on May 2, 1948.

Gladys and Sheldon were dedicated to the Lord their entire lifetimes and were diligent in sharing the story of God, His love, and His plan with their children. Gladys, Sheldon, and children Gary, Denise, and Jack all attended Zion Lutheran School for K-8 of their elementary education, so the Zion Church and School relationship continued from Sheldon's birth in 1924 to Gladys' passing in 2023, a remarkable 99 years.

Gladys' parents were Hugo Jacob Martin Schmidt and Hulda Louise Schmidt, maiden name Eggers. They were married at St. Paul Lutheran Church among Lutheran immigrants in Wittenberg, Perry County, Missouri on September 26, 1920, and moved west shortly thereafter seeking employment opportunities, and established residence in Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon in 1921. Hugo was credited with development of a patent for fiberboard and was interested in irrigation sprinkler technology; Hulda was an accomplished homemaker and parent, and Hugo and Hulda managed a diverse garden and landscape of flowers, fruit trees, and chickens.

Sheldon was born in Corvallis, Oregon on March 4, 1924. He passed away on February 21, 2009. Sheldon's parents were Emanuel Herman Meier and Maria Anna "Mary" Meier (Leder), who also moved west from Missouri and Arkansas in 1904 and 1905, and subsequently were married at Zion Lutheran Church in Corvallis on October 8, 1911. Sheldon had 5 brothers and 2 sisters, and their careers included auto mechanics, technology, farming, and education. Emanuel Meier's business was known for having built vintage cars on the second floor of a building on 2nd Street in downtown Corvallis in the 1920's and 1930's.

Mom was a very good mother, and we thank her for nurturing and loving us, reading with us, always being available to listen, helping us with school projects, homework, and typing, encouraging and supporting us in athletics, church activities, helping Dad and Uncle Clarence with accounting in the jewelry store, exhibiting a business and sales sense, and helping us stay connected with grandparents and cousins. Mom (Gladys) wore a lot of hats, and we knew her love for us, for Dad, and for the Lord.

We had many cousins living in the Corvallis area, some attended our Lutheran School and some the nearby Catholic School. We have fond memories of uncles, relatives, and friends who owned and operated retail grocery, feed, hardware, and pharmacy stores. One business that sprang out of the Gerding families, cousins, and businesses is Gerding Construction, which has a strong and growing reputation and capability today.

Dad served as an aircraft instrument technician at Kodiak Naval Air Station in Alaska in WWII.

Mom took business school classes after high school.

Dad went to instrument and watchmaking school in Chicago after WWII.

Dad and Mom began building a home in 1948, the year before Gary was born on property adjacent to Mom's parents, Hugo and Hulda Schmidt. Mom (Gladys) had grown up with her parents in a former schoolhouse with a bell tower on that property that her family turned into a residence. It was a lot of fun growing up next to my grandparents, with chickens, fruit trees, gardens, and fields to explore. Mom (Gladys) lived in our home that was built in 1948 until she moved to Vancouver in 2019. When the property was sold in 2019, the original German water heater was still operational. The former school house residence Mom grew up in next door was moved in 2014 to a location north of Samaritan Regional Medical Center in north Corvallis, to hopefully be restored and used by the Parks Department someday.

Mom's older sister was Mildred (Kraft) and older brother was Clarence Schmidt.

The Clarence Schmidt family, which includes Donna McKinney and Sue Rhinehart have remained very close to Gladys and of much support, friendship, and encouragement to Mom over the years. Thank you for your enduring love.

One of Mom's nieces, Lorraine Gonzalez of Vancouver, daughter of sister Mildred "Millie", was a good friend with Mom over the years and while Mom lived in Vancouver. Mom and Lorraine shared the same birthday and Mom appreciated the kindred connection to sister Millie. Thank you.

Mom (Gladys) gained some new resident friends at Touchmark in Vancouver but sorely missed her Zion Lutheran friends and relatives from Corvallis. They did keep in touch. Peggy Dooley was a close friend and traveling companion who shared many trips and memories. Ray and Janet Hewitt, Klint and Kelly Peterson, and Liz and Jonathan Schultz have been steadfast communicators and friends over the years, representative of the caring Zion Church membership at large.

Schmidt, Meier, and Kraft cousins, aunts and uncles, and Beck, Hein, Biegel, Stream, Leapaldt, McCracken, Venell, and Rehley families are only a few of the many that bring us memories, along with classmates, fellow athletes, and summer work (bean and berry picking!), irrigation, field work, and construction work. Mom and Dad made it possible!

Dad and my uncle Clarence Schmidt became business partners in Meier & Schmidt Jewelers in Corvallis, opening the store in 1958 and closing it in 1992 after 34 years in business.

In August 2023, Mom even met a new resident (Helen) who moved into Touchmark in Vancouver just down the hall from Mom's apartment. Comparing histories, we learned that Helen had also recently moved from Corvallis, and, in fact, Helen proudly showed us her and her husband's wedding rings on both hands, rings that were purchased from Meier & Schmidt Jewelers years ago.

My wife Diane, daughter-in-law to Gladys, was like a daughter to Mom. Diane's consummate attention to the study and application of health sciences and health habits, and her innate, God-given traits of a hands-on homemaker, caregiver, and team-player among caregivers paid off significantly for Mom in her relationship with Gladys. We owe so much to Diane, and to God for the precious wife and mother he brought to our family.

Diane and I also had the benefit of and pleasure of communicating long-distance almost daily with my brother, Jack Meier, pastor in Arkansas, and his wife, Daris Meier, who has worked many years as a medical coder in the hospital setting. Daris has become like a sister to Diane, with daily communication as to Gladys' health and care, and extending to other family issues and health concerns. This communication has been priceless and is one of the great outcomes God affords to us through adversity (yes, a tool to strengthen us). Much appreciation to brother Jack and his wife Daris and their families.

Much love and appreciation to Mom's grandchildren, Todd (Angie Assa) Meier, Stacy (Andrew) Kline, Tara (Todd) Johnson, and Brian (Courtney) Meier, and their children and grandchildren, Bethany (Dylan) Rutledge, Callie, Nate, Avery, Dyllan, Skylar, twins Paisley Mae and Sadie Grace, and the newest Great-Great-grandson Hudson Jay Rutledge, for their consistent love, contact, and visits to see Mom in Corvallis and Vancouver.

Memorials are suggested to:

Touchmark Foundation, for the provision of nursing scholarships and to support programs to make a difference in Senior's lives, 5150 SW Griffith Dr, Beaverton, OR 97005, phone 800-796-8744.

Zion Lutheran Christian School Endowment Fund, 2745 NW Harrison Blvd, Corvallis, OR 97330

Eric Ragland Ministerial Scholarship Endowment Fund, for pastor & teacher education scholarship support, 2745 NW Harrison Blvd, Corvallis, OR 97330

Touchmark's Retirement Community, leadership and staff, Assisted Living resident care managers, and attentive caregivers are greatly appreciated and met Mom's needs effectively and with much love. Likewise, Providence Hospice is a remarkably effective provider of Hospice Services, they coordinated their people and resources well to allow Mom to remain at Touchmark in her later days.

Written and Submitted by Gary Meier

360-241-5600

gameier@garymeier.com