Gladys P. Carau

If, of Thy Mortal Goods Thou Art Bereft
And of Thy Store Two Loaves Are Left,
Sell One and With the Dole,
Buy Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul.
Saadi – A.D 1258

Gladys Carau, formerly of Loveland, passed away on November 4, 2018. She died peacefully at her home in Arvada at the age of 96.

Glady Elizabeth Persons was born on February 27, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, to Erwin and Irene Persons. She was oldest of four children, with one brother and two sisters. She grew up in Grand Rapids and nearby Deer River and loved the adventures nature had to offer: summer swimming in the local lakes, ice skating in winter, and going to an island in the middle of the frozen Mississippi River to ""hunt"" for Christmas trees.

After graduating from Grand Rapids High School in 1939, Glady moved to Duluth, Minnesota. She worked as a live-in housekeeper and cook while also attending business school. In 1942 she moved to Washington, D.C., and began working as a secretary and stenographer with the Department of Interior and Petroleum Administration.

On New Year's Eve 1942, on a blind date at the Texas State Dance, she met ""a handsome young sailor"" from Alabama named Frank Louis Carau Jr. The two were married on May 27, 1943. While Frank was deployed in the war, Glady continued to work in Washington. After the war the couple settled in Arlington, Virginia. In 1948, Glady gave birth to their first child, Frank Paul. In 1953 the family moved to Vienna, Virginia. In 1963, they welcomed their second child, Kathleen Elizabeth.

In 1998, Glady and Frank moved to Loveland to be closer to their son and his family. After Frank died in 2012, Glady continued to live in Loveland, enjoying time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In 2015, after more than 60 years away, Glady returned to Minnesota for a visit to her granddaughter's family and a trip to Grand Rapids, where it all began. At the Grand Rapids Museum, she stopped to examine the display of an ancient, terrifying dentist's chair-her childhood dentist! In 2018, Glady moved to Arvada with her son and daughter-in-law. She was sad to leave Loveland but excited for her next adventure.

Glady was a woman of many interests, talents and joys. She loved music, especially classical and Broadway shows. She was a season ticket holder at the Candlelight Dinner Theater and looked forward to each performance. She had a lifelong love of cooking and collecting cook books, as well as exploring new restaurants.

Glady began learning to knit at the age of 6, and though her first scarf resembled the continent of Africa, she soon improved! She became an extremely talented artist, seamstress and craftswoman, creating hundreds of pieces pottery, and sewing clothing for herself and others, including her future daughter-in-law Linda's wedding dress. She was an avid reader from the age of 4 to the age of 96, an expert gardener, and a master with orchids. She and her husband Frank enjoyed many years of sailing their boat Meg on the Chesapeake Bay, and an adventurous trip down the intra-costal waterway to the Florida Keys and back, he the Skipper and she the First Mate.

Glady will be greatly missed by family and friends.

Glady was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Beverly, her brother Erwin, and her husband Frank. She is survived by her sister Shelloy Crawford of Norfolk, VA; her son and daughter-in-law, Frank and Linda Carau; grandson Paul Carau, his wife Kathy, and their children, Luka, Anya and Noah; granddaughter Christen Brown, her husband Andrew, and their children Bryan and Alex; granddaughter Cynthia Carau, her husband Anthony Bateza, and their children Austen and Magdalene; her daughter Kathleen Bass; grandson Christopher Bass; granddaughter Nicole Riley and her husband Chris.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 10:00 am on Tuesday, November 20. A service for Committal of the Ashes will be at Trinity Lutheran Church Memorial Urn Garden immediately following the funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gladys’ honor to The Larimer County Humane Society, at 3501 E 71st St, Loveland, CO 80538 or online at www.larimerhumane.org.

Please share your memories of Gladys & condolences with her family by visiting the guestbook below.