Gladys Thompson

Gladys (Hughes) Thompson was born to a railroading family on the prairies of Saskatchewan in Canada on March 6, 1917. She fell in love with a Mountie, Alfred Thompson, and they married in 1943. They had three children, sons Alfred and Robert and a daughter, Marilyn. In 1950, they packed up their family and moved from Saskatchewan to Port Colborne, Ontario, where they built and opened a hardware, fine china and gift store. Gladys had a life-long appreciation of fine china and loved to search antique stores for beautiful and unusual pieces. In 1960, the family again packed up and moved - this time to Sacramento. Alfred continued to work in the hardware business, and, at age 43, Gladys learned to drive and became a bookkeeper. She spent the final 20 years of her career as the bookkeeper for Grebitus & Sons Jewelers until she retired at age 79. After her husband died in 1996, Gladys continued an active lifestyle. She was an ardent Kings fan and loved ice hockey and baseball as well. She travelled to Canada, Hawaii and Mexico, made sure there were always fresh-baked cookies for her grandchildren, cheered on their soccer games, and loved her great-grandchildren. She passed peacefully away at age 98 after a brief illness. Gladys is survived by her sons and their spouses -- Alfred and Patricia Thompson of Orangevale and Robert and Rosemarie Thompson of Folsom, daughter Marilyn Thompson of Rancho Cordova, her grandchildren Kimberley Witt, Stacey Matteoli, Tracey Porter, Joshua Thompson, and Aurora (Annie) Kadilis, and eight great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.