Gladys May Culver

Gladys May Culver was born on August 31, 1910 in a farmhouse one mile from Webster Lake, about one mile from Webster School, and one mile from what is now the Church of God. She was the daughter of Tony & Elsie V. (Gray) Strombeck and made a happy life of teaching, service, and commerce in this modest triangle.

She lived most of her life on Webster Lake, with her beloved husband Arnold. From 1938 until the late 1970s, they operated the Yellow Banks Grocery, an extension of their home, where they also rented fishing cottages and boats to vacationing families. On a typical Saturday, Arnold could be found selling penny candy to neighborhood children while Gladys minded a pie in the oven, prepared a cottage for new arrivals, delivered phone messages, and prepared the music for Sunday services at the church. She preferred to stand while others were eating in case someone needed something. She never complained because she enjoyed being busy and she loved people.

As a child, Gladys pretended to be a teacher to her siblings: Wayne, Robert, Tony, and Dale. In 1930, she graduated from Ball Normal College in Muncie with a teaching degree. She became a proud contributor to one of America’s greatest institutions: the public school system. Over the next 40 years, she taught more than 1,500 elementary students in the N. Webster School.  She could name and tell a story about nearly every student she ever had if shown a picture. A trusted adult, children would seek her out when they had an especially tenacious baby tooth to lose and she would advise on its readiness.

Gladys and Arnold were lifelong parishioners of the Church of God, which Gladys’ grandmother, Mary, began out of her home in the early 1900’s. Gladys played piano and organ at the church for 85 years, on many occasions with her friend Pauline White.

Gladys and Arnold had two sons: Gary, born in 1942 and Bart, born in 1948. Arnold passed away in May 1990 and Gary passed away in 2003.

After she retired in 1972, she and Arnold accompanied Bart’s family on many trips, including visits to Haiti, Australia, New Zealand, Rarotonga, and Costa Rica. On her 100th birthday she was honored to celebrate with more than 350 community members (many of them former students) at a party in the North Webster Community Center Gym. She lived independently on the banks of Webster Lake until age 101, when she moved into Miller’s Merry Manor in Syracuse. At 105 her eyesight was nearly gone and her hearing impaired, but she still sought out new people to befriend.

Gladys passed away on July 17, 2016, peacefully in her sleep. She is survived by her brother, Tony (Pat) Strombeck, her son, Bart (Cinda) Culver, four granddaughters: Jody Perdomo, Breesa Culver, Alexis Culver, and Audim Culver, one great granddaughter: Alicia Perdomo Thorn, and three great great grandchildren: Jadyn Cole, Breonna Cole, and Mason Sivits.

A book about her life, The Life and Times of Gladys May Strombeck Culver, written in 1996, can be found at the North Wester Library.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at Owen Family Funeral Home, St. Rd. 13 & CR 500N, North Webster, IN. Funeral Services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2016 at the Church of God, 300 N. Main St., North Webster, IN with Pastor Mike Beezley officiating. Burial will follow in the Mock Addition of the North Webster Cemetery.

Preferred memorials may be given to the Church of God, P.O. Box 313, North Webster, IN 46555 or North Webster Community Center, P.O. Box 379, North Webster, IN  46555. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home and church.