Obituary of Gladys Ernestine Ekman

Gladys Ernestine (Withers) Ekman, 93, formerly of Woodstock, CT, died peacefully March 9, 2017 at her assisted living home at Sunrise Senior Living in Rockville, Maryland. Gladys was born April 9, 1923, at Georgetown University Hospital, to Ernest Arthur and Elsie (Vaughan) Withers. She and her family lived in Florida, New York, until 1934, when they moved to Woodstock. Gladys graduated from Woodstock Academy in 1940. She was married to Kenneth Theodore Ekman on July 25, 1943. Gladys worked at Stillwater Worsted Company from 1940 to 1946. Her son Robert James Ekman was born on February 13, 1947, and Gladys worked part time house cleaning jobs while raising her son. She began full time work again at Linemaster Switch Corporation in Woodstock in 1968, assembling electrical switches, and she remained there until her retirement in 1985, shortly after her husband Kenneth passed away on April 8, 1985. Gladys lived independently in Woodstock most of the rest of her life, until in 2013, after a brief illness, she moved to Sunrise Senior Living in Rockville, Maryland, to be close to her son Robert and his family. Gladys is survived by one sister, Sarah Hooker (Withers), and one brother, William Withers, as well as her son Robert, two grandsons, Daniel and Eric and one great grandson, Elias Kai Ekman. Gladys was pre-deceased by three sisters, Marjorie Potter, Gwendolyn Potter and Dorothy Szarkowicz, as well as one brother, Ernest Withers. A Calling Hour will be Thursday, March 16, 2017 from 10:00 to 11:00 AM followed by a Memorial Service at 11:00 AM at the Smith and Walker Funeral Home. Spring Burial in Central Cemetery in Woodstock, CT. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Montgomery Hospice, 1355 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. www.smithandwalkerfh.com