Gladys Sproat Treece

Gladys Sproat Treece went home to be with her boys on Oct. 8, 2010.

She was born March 24, 1918, to Emery and Margaret (Snook) Girton in Augusta, Mont.  She was the seventh of 11 children and is survived by one brother, Arthur Girton of Ft. St. John, British Columbia, Canada.

Gladys moved with her family to Bonners Ferry and graduated from Bonners Ferry High School in 1936.

She met Alexander Sproat at a dance and they were married July 2, 1937, in Sandpoint. Six children were born from their union.

They had three boys, Harold born May 1938 died June 1970, Alan who was  born Dec. 1940 and died in Dec. 1940, and Daryl who was born in Dec. 1949 and died in June 1970.

Harold served in the Air Force and Daryl served in the Army and saw action in Viet Nam. Daryl passed away shortly after his honorable discharge from the Army.

Gladys has three surviving daughters,  Luella (and Don) Hattan of Tenino, Wash., Linda (and Ben) Bomar, of Athol, and Denese Park of Vancouver, Wash. Gladys is also survived by 10 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.

Gladys and Al were married 25 years. They were wanderers . Al was a jack of all trades and Gladys helped him with whatever he endeavored.

He was a dairyman and ran a dairy where the elk ranch is now, out by Fighting Creek. They separated in 1963 and Gladys ran the H & H Truck Stop Cafe in Athol for a while.  Her love was cooking, so she cooked in several restaurants in Kootenai County, including Merrill’s Cafe’ and horse racing track.

She married George Treece in 1968. They moved to Blue River, Ore. She had time to enjoy and improve her skills of painting, ceramics and becoming a published author of poems.

Our mother was patriotic, she worked on the rail road during W.W.II to help our country, she was also not afraid to speak her mind especially if she didn’t like something.

We will miss her goofy little songs, her great meals and her telling it like it is.  Good bye mother. We love you.

Mother will be laid to rest with her boys in Pinegrove Cemetery in Rathdrum at a later date.