Obit: Young, Gloria Rae (1950 - 2015)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Young, Johnson, Brinkmeier, Daley, Felckowski, Garceau, James, Sachse, Moeller

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/09/2015

Young, Gloria Rae (23 January 1950 - 1 July 2015)

Gloria Rae Young, 65, of Granton died the morning of July 1, 2015, at her home in rural Clark County with her children at her side. She was born Jan. 23, 1950, in Wisconsin Rapids, the daughter of Glenn Henry Louis Brinkmeier and Mae Bernice Johnson.

Gloria graduated high school in 1967 and attended UW-Milwaukee and earned an undergraduate degree in elementary education and art. Gloria married John G. Young Nov. 3, 1972 at Our lady of Lourdes Parish in Milwaukee. The coupled had two children, Eric Glenn and Amanda Kay, and later divorced.

Gloria taught briefly in Cadott after college and became a mother, a homemaker and substitute-taught as the family moved to destinations in southern and eastern Wisconsin while her husband pursued his career.

In 1987, Gloria and her children moved to Sherwood to live at the home her father built. In those first years there, she substitute-taught at Neillsville, Granton and Pittsville school districts. When Pittsville had a vacancy for library media specialist in 1990, she accepted that position and worked there 25 years until her retirement in April of this year. While teaching, Gloria earned a Master of Science degree in educational media from UW-La Crosse.

Gloria was in her element while at home and enjoyed gardening, making firewood, tending to her land, working on projects around the house, spending time with her pets and reading books on her deck. She particularly enjoyed spending weekends and summer vacations with her son and two grandsons in Green Bay and visiting and attending events with her daughter in Minnesota. She was an avid deer hunter who hosted annual deer camp gatherings for friends and family. She was active in several school organizations, including the school board and the PTO, the elementary school butterfly garden, along with the community library and local government in Sherwood.

She is survived by her son, Eric young; grandsons, Henry and Elliot Young; daughter, Amanda (Sam) Daley; sister, Cheryl (Bernie) Felckowski; nephew, Gary (Rhonda) Garceau; great-nieces: Brittney and Cassandra Garceau; several cousins, including, Barry (Barb) James; aunt, Irene James; special friends, Cathy Sachse and Lynn Moeller; dozens of coworkers and associates and other important people in her community.

She is preceded in death by her father, Glenn; mother, Bernice; and her ‘summer mother,’ special friend Carolyn Sachse, mother to Cathy.

Gloria was an incredible woman who will be missed dearly. She was a superwoman, a role model, a moral compass and a mentor to her children and grandchildren and many of those around her. Her character was defined by her independent spirit and penchant for finding a way to solve life’s problems. She was her own woman and live life on her own terms.

A celebration of Gloria’s life will be held in her honor July 11 at the Sherwood Lake park Pavilion, from 12 to 4 p.m. The service will begin at noon, followed by a 1p.m. meal with social time to follow.

In lieu of flowers, Gloria’s family kindly requests that a donation in her name, be made to the Sherwood Lake restoration project. Information can be found at http://www.sites.google.com/site/wedigfriendsofsherwoodlake/.