Gladys Thoen died on Tuesday afternoon, June 29, 2010, at the Johnson Memorial Home in Dawson at the age of 87. Funeral service was at 1:00 PM, Friday, July 2, at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson with Pastor Kendall Stelter & Pastor Lindsay Stolen officiating; scripture lessons were Psalm 150:1-2,6; Matthew 5:1-12 and John 14:1-7; organist, Chris Lehne accompanied the congregation in singing "Beautiful Savior", "My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less" and "Thine Is The Glory;" and for special music, the Grace Choir sang "In The Quiet Hour" and "A Blessing." Honorary casketbearers were Bethel Anderson, Myles & Karen Bergeson, Gloria Burg, JoAnn Carlson, Liz Erickson, Vi Geistfeld, Doris Gruenenwald, Rev. Jack Lewis, Allan Moe, Ellsworth & Clarice Olson and Susan Skoien and the active casketbearers were Matt Crews, Gordon Geistfeld, Dave Hickey, John Perry Peterson, Kevin Thoen and Douglas Warnke. Interment was in Grace Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation was at the Hanson & Dahl Funeral Home on Thursday, July 1, from 5-7 PM with a closing prayer service at 7 PM, and on Friday for one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials may be mailed to Larry Thoen - 1271 Woodcrest Avenue - Shoreview, MN 55126 Gladys Verona Thoen was born on September 2, 1922 in Hazel Run, MN, the daughter of Emil and Martha Podoll. She was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Appleton, MN. She graduated from Appleton High School in 1940 and then attended commercial college in the Twin Cities. She worked as a high school secretary and then for the W.J. Jennison flour mill in Appleton for 22 years, the last 7 of which she served as the manager of the flour mill. Gladys married Harland Thoen in 1962 and moved to Dawson, MN, also becoming the loving stepmother of Harland's three children: Ann, Larry, and Pam. Gladys also began working for the Dawson Sentinel in 1962, and she did not retire from that job until 47 years later, in 2009. She was very active in the Dawson community, incuding memberships in the Dawson PTA, the Dawson Area Chamber of Commerce, the JM Hospital Auxiliary, the Lac qui Parle County Food Shelf, the Lac qui Parle County Republicans, and the American Cancer Society. The city of Dawson honored Gladys and Harland as the Dawson 'gnomes' of 2000, recognizing the impact they have jointly had on the community. Gladys was a devout woman, and she was very active in her church, Grace Lutheran in Dawson. She was a member and served as president more than once of the Grace Lutheran Church Women. She taught Sunday School classes, adult bible study classes, sang in the choir, was a member of many 'circle' bible study groups, and volunteered countless hours on whatever needed to be done at the church. Gladys died on Tuesday afternoon, June 29, 2010 at Johnson Memorial Home in Dawson at the age of 87, surrounded by her husband and family. She is survived by her husband, Harland Thoen; by one sister, Adeline Timm of Belview,MN; one sister-in law, Marge Podoll of Rapid City, SD; children: Ann Hegg (Dennis) of Maple Grove, MN, Larry Thoen (Cindy) of Shoreview, MN, and Pam Bertness (Mark) of Apple Valey, MN; 5 grandchildren: Ema Thoen (Jesse Whitney), Kevin Thoen, Molly Thoen, Melissa Bertness, Jennifer Crews (Matt); 3 step-grandchildren: Dawn Schwartz (Jeff), Tammy Waln (Keith), Debra Eguwe (Daniel); 3 great grandchildren: Tyson Ziniel, Dylan Thoen and Olive Thoen; 7 step-great grandchildren: Carrie Johnson (Nick), Sarah Schwartz, Kelsey Schwartz, Dylan Waln, Elizabeth Jones, Nicholas Jones, Chloe Jones; and many nieces, nephews and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, Emil and Martha Podoll; brothers: Orwell, Marlow, and Donald Podoll; and sister, Lois Podoll.