Gladys M. Patrick

Gladys Patrick, age 88, of Beresford, died Saturday, July 11, 2020, at the Bethesda Care Center in Beresford. A memorial service for the family will be held on Thursday, July 16, in Rapid City. For more information regarding the service please contact Janice.

Gladys Mae Rippe was born on July 8, 1932 in Davison county on the family farm. As a child, her family moved to Rapid City so her dad could help with the construction of Ellsworth AFB. On her 88th birthday she moved from the Good Samaritan Society in Howard, SD to Bethesda Nursing home in Beresford, SD. Because of this move, she was able to spend the day with family, which was rare due to COVID restrictions. She said it was her best birthday ever! She looked forward to a visit from her son and grandkids who were traveling from Ohio on Saturday, which she was able to do before her death.

On August 29, 1949, Gladys married James Wesley Patrick. They had 3 children, Kenneth Gene, Mike Donald, and several years later, a surprise, Janice Lynn. Gladys was a homemaker until Jim died in the Rapid City Flood, at which time she started to work at First National Bank, which became Norwest Bank. After she was laid off, she became a bank teller at American State Bank in Rapid City, until the time of her retirement.

Gladys was multi-talented. She loved to draw, paint which included rosemaling, and she was an accomplished seamstress. She loved to play cribbage, and was in charge of weekly cribbage at the Canyon Lake Senior Citizen Center for several years. She loved to brag when she won all 4 games in the afternoon. She loved to dance and have fun. She went to the Thursday dance at the Minneluzahan Senior Citizen Center, and the Saturday dance at Canyon Lake Senior Citizen Center. She built her life around going dancing. Although she didn’t travel much, one of her biggest trips ever was to visit Australia. In 2015, Gladys moved to Howard, SD to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren. 

Her greatest heartache in her life was losing her son, Mike, to suicide in 1993. It was something she never got over. Remember that there is always someone out there to live for, someone who loves you. A mother's love is like non other, and Gladys was a good mother. She loved without limits.

Gladys is survived by one son, Kenneth Patrick of Loveland, OH and his children Scott (Jennifer) Jesse, and Jaime Slinkard, as well as great grandchildren Sydney, Ally and Ian Patrick and Aiden Snelling. She is also survived by one daughter, Janice (Darick) Thompson of Beresford, SD and her children Jordan Meyers, Elliane Antrim and Hanna Antrim, two sisters, Norma Purrington and Carol Smith as well as a bonus grandson, Colton Thompson.

She was preceded in death by her son Mike.

Gladys always said to give her flowers while she was alive to enjoy them. In Leu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Front Porch Coalition of Rapid City, dedicated to those people who have lost a loved one to suicide. Please include Glady’s name on the memo.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Gladys M. Patrick, please visit our floral store.