Gladys Barber

Gladys Helen Barber, 81-year-old resident of Little Falls, formerly of Mons Lake, passed away on Tuesday, February 6, at her home surrounded by her family.  A Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, February 19, at  1:00 P.M. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church with Father Alan Wielinski, Father Patrick Hoeft, Father Luis Palomino, and Father Ron Dockendorf. Visitation will be held on Monday, February 19, from 11:00 A.M. until the hour of service at the church.   A Rosary will be said at 10:30 A.M. on Monday, February 19, at the church. Please follow the link to view the live stream for Gladys: https://portal.memoryshare.com/services/view/gladys-barber-8075120

Gladys Helen Socher was born on March 16, 1942, in Little Falls to the late Leonard and Hazel (Barthel) Socher.  She attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School and graduated from St. Francis High School in Little Falls.  She was united in marriage to Vernon Barber, the love of her life, on August 22, 1960, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Little Falls. Gladys worked at St. Otto's Care Center while in high school and after high school at Munsingwear. She chose to take the time to be a stay-at-home mom until her children were grown. Then, she would return to work for her daughter Cindy at Wright Co. She was the assistant cook at the Swanville Schools cafeteria, where she retired after 20 years. She loved serving the kids, connecting with them, and making special buddies. Gladys volunteered as a religious education teacher, Christian Mothers, Prayer Chain, Swanville Carnival, Brownie leader, and her son Jeff’s lifeguard for four years. In addition to her passions for gardening, flowers, birds, cooking, cleaning, sewing, embroidery, crocheting, crafting, canning, ditching, picking rocks, winning games, decorating for the holidays, and her love for the Lord, she cherished every moment spent with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved traveling with family and friends. She loved evening pontoon rides with Vern. Most important to Glady was spending time with family and friends.  Being a mom was her greatest accomplishment. 

She was a wonderful mom to many.

Left to cherish her memory are husband, Vernon Barber of Little Falls; children, Cynthia (Donald) Edlund of Buffalo, Jeffrey (Victoria) Barber of Swanville, Jenifer (Tom) Odette of St. Cloud and Christopher (Danielle) Barber of Champlin, and; sister, Joyce Doroff of Little Falls; grandchildren, Heather (Joshua) Johnson, Samantha (Joshua) Van De Walker, Ashley Edlund, Mathew Odette, Michael Odette, Joshua Barber and Evan Barber: great-grandchildren, Tucker, Jackson and Hunter Van De Walker.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Hazel Socher.

Emblom Brenny Funeral Service is Cherishing the Memory and Celebrating the Life of Gladys.