Obit: Pawelko, Gladys Merle (1922 - 2015)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Aweve, Carlson, Cavallaro, Jones, Larson, Miller, Mishturek, Notogiacomo, Pawelko, Tytor

----Source: The Star News (Medford, WI) 5/14/2015

Pawelko, Gladys Merle (Carlson) (24 JUN 1922 - 8 MAY 2015)

Gladys Pawelko died May 8, 2015 at her daughter’s home in McHenry, Ill. just weeks shy of her 93rd birthday.

Gladys Merle Carlson was born June 24, 1922 in Medford to Dave and Ruth (Larson) Carlson. Along with her many siblings, she was raised in a log cabin on the family farm during the depression.

On January 11, 1941, she married William Pawelko, son of the late Michael and Mary (Mishturek) Pawelko of Lublin. Together for 67 years, they raised two children and enjoyed homes in Des Plaines and Norridge, Ill.; Withee; Spring Hill, Fla.; Racine; and finally with their daughter in McHenry.

Gladys is survived by her son, Robert (Sandy) Pawelko of Dallas, Texas, her daughter, Beverly Aweve, of McHenry, Ill., granddaughters Onna (Nicolas) Jones of Chicago and Natasha (Christopher) Cavallaro of Ft. Collins, Col.; plus seven great grandchildren: Sean, Maura and Will Pawelko of Oak Park, Ill., Bridey, Molly and Henry Jones; and Jacob Cavallaro. She is also survived by one brother, Lester Carlson of Medford, one sister, Ethel Miller of Racine, sisters-in-law Alyce (Peter) Pawelko of Florissant, Mo. and Sandy (Roy) Carlson of Reedsburg, along with almost four dozen nieces and nephews and many lifelong friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, William, in 2008, and grandson, Troy Robert Pawelko, in 2011; three brothers: Marlin, Roy, and Jerry; and three sisters: Mabel Notogiacomo, Florence Tytor, and infant Lois Carlson.

Gladys was both fiesty and “Swedishly Stubborn.” As a teenager, she spent summers as a nanny for children in Highland Park, Ill. She worked as a telephone operator and later for A.B. Dick, a duplicating company in Niles, Ill. Once retired, she and her husband moved back to Wisconsin, reconnecting with both family and friends in the Medford/Withee/Gilman/Lublin areas. They enjoyed polka dancing, traveling, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling. Gladys especially thrived with her flower and vegetable gardens, canning and many crafts. She was an avid reader and worked at keeping in touch with their extended family and many friends.

A memorial service will be held in the chapel at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, WI on Wednesday, May 27 at 11 a.m. Donations towards a memorial marker in memory of Gladys can be made to the Southern Wisconsin Veterans’ Memorial, 21731 Spring St., Union Grove, WI 53182.