Services
Obituary
Gladys D. Wilkie, 100, of Kanawha passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2005, at the Kanawha Community Home in Kanawha.
Gladys Delight Enabit, the daughter of Christ and Anna (Mayer) Enabnit, was born April 29, 1905, in Meservey, Iowa.
Gladys married D.L. Wilkie, Sr. on September 27, 1924, at the home of her parents in Des Moines. The young couple lived in Des Moines where Luck managed the Red Ball Grocery Store until 1926, when they moved to Manly, Iowa. They were co-owners of Enabnit-Wilkie Grocery and Dry Goods Store until December of 1936 when they purchased the grocery store in Kanawha, which Gladys ran alongside her husband. She retired after 62 years in the grocery business.
All the while Gladys was working she was deeply involved with her family, her church and her community. Early on, she became a founding member of the American Legion, sold war bonds during WWII and spearheaded the campaign to get Kanawha's band their first uniforms. She wrote news for over forty years foe the newspapers in Kanawha, Britt, Belmond and Clarion.
She was involved in many activities and was willing to accept leadership positions in most. She was a member of Kanawha United Methodist Church, A.M. Bible Study, Sr. Bible Class, Sunday school, Administration Board, and Ecumenical Officer of Devotions. She was also a member of A.B.C. Club, lifetime member of Kanawha Women's Club, lifetime member of Order of Eastern Star, Past President Parley, Past President of American Legion Auxiliary, member of Netaker Temple Daughters of Nile, Merry Makers Club, life-time member of Hancock County Historical Society, Paradise Club (O.E.S. Past Matrons), Elm Club, bridge club and book club.
Gladys was a very giving person who had a kind word to say about everybody. She deeply valued her family, her church community, her community and her many friends. She loved to play cards, entertain friends, and write poetry and verses. One of her last efforts was to organize the ecumenical vespers program at the community home.
Gladys is survived by three children: Rose Eileen Hall of Dubuque, David Wilkie of Ventura and friends Sally Pritchard and Deloris Alderson of Idaho Falls, Idaho, seven grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Luck, and stillborn daughter Mabel Anna.