Gladys (Thierer) Szabo

     Gladys Thierer Szabo was a blessing to everyone she met during her long life.

     As a speech therapist, she gave the gift of speech to countless children, working patiently to help them overcome stuttering and other communication problems, and helping stroke survivors relearn how to talk. The blessings she bestowed upon the world will not end with her death; the children she taught to communicate have lived happier, more fulfilling lives, and they are with us to this day. The speech therapists whom she mentored became more skilled and better able to help their clients reach their potential. As a mother and Sunday school teacher, she taught children to follow Christ's example of compassion and tolerance, showing respect for people from different walks of life. Gladys' giving nature inspired her children to seek out careers where they could make a positive difference in the world.

     As George Eliot wrote, "The effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life."

     Gladys believed in following Christ's example in all aspects of life. She felt compassion for the poor and a moral obligation to help them, generously donating money to people living in poverty even when her family was struggling financially. Like many people born during the Great Depression, Gladys was raised to be frugal. As an adult, she never wasted food and often reused her tea bags. Yet Gladys was also uncommonly generous, sponsoring vulnerable children in developing countries for decades. In later life, she donated one quarter of her income to charity. Gladys listened more than she spoke; if she didn't have something nice to say, she usually said nothing at all. If Gladys disagreed with you about an issue, you probably didn't know it, because she was so agreeable and tolerant. She lived the Gospel through her humble example, rather than through preaching.

     Gladys grew up on a farm near Montfort, Wisconsin and was the youngest of six children. Although she was not athletic, she loved being outdoors, often noting that she spent much of her childhood in a tree reading a book. She adored her dog, Mickey, a white spitz. Gladys attended Willow Springs Country School, a one-room schoolhouse; St. Anthony's Parochial School; and Highland High School, where she was valedictorian in 1949. Gladys noted that her first school had only three books, but she read them over and over, until she had nearly memorized them. She attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she earned a bachelor's degree in speech and language therapy. She was the first member of her family to graduate from college. Gladys put herself through college largely with money that she earned herself. She was frequently forced to drop out of college and get a job when her funds ran low. But she never gave up. As soon as Gladys saved enough money for tuition, she would re-enroll in class.

     Gladys met Steve Szabo, her future husband, at a square dance while they were both students in Madison. When Steve invited her to a restaurant the next week, Gladys was so impressed that she thought Steve must be "one of those rich guys from out East." She didn't realize that Steve had likely spent a week's salary on clothes, flowers and dinner that night. They married in 1955.

     Gladys and Steve moved 10 times in the first decade of their marriage as they followed Steve's career from Wisconsin to New Mexico, Maryland and Virginia. All four of their children were born in different states.

     Gladys was a devoted mother, and frequently said that the years she spent at home with her children were the happiest of her life. She loved to grow flowers, and her home in Rockland County, New York was radiant with purple lilacs, pink and white dogwoods and azaleas, cream-colored lilies of the valley and fuchsia rhododendrons that grew taller than the roof of their house. Gladys was very involved in her children's lives and activities, sewing many of her daughter Susan's dresses and volunteering as a Brownie troop leader. She also served as a den mother when her sons, Ernie and Stephen, were in the Cub Scouts. Gladys volunteered as a children's Sunday school teacher at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Spring Valley, New York, where she was a long-time member. Every Sunday, she drove her children and her dear friend, Margaret Greco - who was like a grandmother to Gladys' children - to Catholic Mass.

     In 1970, after her three oldest children were in elementary school, Gladys went back to school to earn a master's degree from Hunter College in New York City. As a girl raised in the country, she often said that she felt very brave taking the bus into Manhattan for night classes. Gladys' studies were again interrupted, this time by the birth of her fourth and youngest child, Elizabeth. Gladys returned to work full time as a speech therapist when Elizabeth was three years old. Gladys helped pioneer the role of working mother, part of the first wave of women to go back to work while raising a family. Gladys worked at Jawonio, also known then as the Rockland County Center for the Physically Handicapped, for 25 years, and was eventually promoted to clinical supervisor of the speech and hearing department. As a working mother, Gladys had less free time to volunteer in her children's activities. But she enjoyed the days when her youngest child accompanied her to work, often participating in play-based therapy with young clients.

     Gladys was beloved by the speech therapists who worked for her. She was a consummate professional and a mentor to her coworkers, many of whom fondly recall her as the best supervisor they ever had. Gladys was a loyal friend to her neighbors in New York, visiting them when they were too sick to leave the house. The Szabos lived on a small street where everyone knew everyone else, and neighborhood kids played and bicycled in the street late into the evening.

     The greatest sorrow of Gladys' life was the death of her oldest child, Stephen, in 1971, who was hit by a car while delivering newspapers on his bicycle. She remained a devout Catholic throughout her life, in spite of her great loss. In her later years, she served as Eucharistic minister, delivering Holy Communion to people who were home-bound, both to members of St. Joseph's in New York and, after she retired, as a member of St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

     After Gladys retired from Jawonia, she and Steve moved to Oshkosh to be near their daughter, Susan, and her family. Returning to Wisconsin gave Gladys the opportunity to spend more time with her brother and sisters, as well as her nieces and nephews.

     Gladys worked part-time as a speech therapist in Oshkosh and wasted no time becoming involved at St. Raphael's. When she stopped teaching speech, she became a volunteer with the Christ Child Society, the parish care team ministry and the Salvatorian Mission Warehouse. She also volunteered at Mercy Medical Hospital and the Oshkosh Senior Center. Gladys visited older adults who were home-bound due to illness, both as a Eucharistic minister and as a friend. While living at Evergreen, a continuing care community in Oshkosh, Gladys regularly made the rounds to see bed-ridden friends, even when she needed a walker. When Steve moved into a memory care unit at Evergreen, Gladys visited him every day, spending most of her mornings and afternoons at his side. During the pandemic, when the facility was locked down and she was not allowed to visit inside, she climbed through bushes to see her husband through his bedroom window. Gladys gave up her car after Steve's death in 2021, which left her unable to attend church as frequently as she liked. But the love she shared with the world was returned to her; now, she became the one receiving home visits from Eucharistic ministers, many of whom became good friends. Gladys was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2020 and endured four rounds of difficult chemotherapy, which put her in remission for the rest of her life.

     Gladys doted on her six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She enjoyed raising flowers in Oshkosh, and continued reading until her vision deteriorated and reading became painful. After her brother and sisters died, Gladys was regarded as the matriarch of the family and was treasured by her nephews and nieces, especially Diane Hinke of Fond du Lac, who visited often.

     Gladys moved to Door County, Wisconsin in June 2024 to be near her daughter Susan, who retired to Ellison Bay. Gladys lived at Woodview Assisted Living, and then in the Care Center at Serenity Springs Senior Living, known locally as Scandia. While there, Gladys enjoyed attending Mass, praying the rosary and receiving communion as a member of the Stella Maris parish. Gladys took part in many other activities, as well, and made some close friends. She loved being outdoors, looking at the trees and flowers and going on rides to appreciate the beauty of Door County.

     Gladys passed away May 30, 2025 at Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin after a heart attack.

     Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, Della and Alban Thierer; her husband, Steve; her son, Stephen; sister Ruth Donahay and Ruth's husband Justin; sister Shirley Sennett and her husband, Frank; sister Mary Fahey and her husband, Robert; as well as her brother, Melvin Thierer, and his wife, Patricia; and her sister Zelma, who died of leukemia as a child. Gladys also was preceded in death by her dear mother-in-law, Mary Szabo, as well as Steve's sisters and brothers: Alex Szabo, Helen Szabo, Margaret Szabo, John Szabo, Esther Higgins, Irene Heege and Ernest Szabo. She will be reunited in heaven with her lifelong friend, Carol Freidel, who was the maid of honor at her wedding, and who encouraged Gladys to study speech therapy. Gladys is survived by her children Susan Szabo and her husband, Mark Beecher; Ernie Szabo and his wife, Amie; and Elizabeth and her husband. She is also survived by her grandchildren Emily, Katerina, Stephanie, T., Erin and Matthew, as well as her great-grandchild Danielle. Gladys is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Gladys leaves a legacy of love and a sterling example of humility and kindness to all of her friends and family.

     The family would like to thank the caring staff at Scandia and the compassionate nurses and physicians at Door County Medical Center.

     A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. at Stella Maris - Sister Bay Site, on Friday, June 20, 2025 with Fr. Thomas Farrell officiating. Gladys' urn will be interred at the Ascension Cemetery in Tallman, New York, where Steve and their son, Stephen, are buried.

     In lieu of flowers, donations may to made to Catholic Charities; the Jawonio Foundation; or the Salvatorian Mission Warehouse.

     Casperson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Sister Bay is assisting the Sazbo family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Gladys may be shared with her family through her tribute page at www.CaspersonFuneralHome.com.

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