Gladys Irene Kinnee

Gladys was born on July 3, 1925, to Florence and Simon Lidbeck. She was raised on the family dairy farm in Aurora, Wis.

She married Gerald (Jerry) Kinnee in 1945, following his return from naval service during World War II.

Gladys was a homemaker, a wife and a mother of three children. In 1963, the family relocated to Wheeling, Ill., for Jerry’s job; living there until they retired full time to Mesa in 1990.

Gladys had 68 wonderful years of marriage until Jerry died in 2014. Her greatest passion was her family and her love for the Lord.

She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother with an incredible caring nature and a beautiful smile. She will be forever loved and missed.

Gladys turned her life-long enjoyment of knitting and crocheting into making prayer/lap blankets for patients at a local hospital, donating nearly 4,000 hours of her time up until her death.

She is survived by sisters, Myrtle Jones of Kingsford and Gail Ford of Bellingham, Wash.; children: Marsha (Frank) Schweitzer of Mesa, Marlene (Doug) Allen of Tempe, Ariz., and Randy (Melodie) Kinnee of Palatine, Ill.; seven grandchildren: Michelle Knaupp, Karen Walden, Lisa Plattenberger, Kristen Schweitzer, Alyssa Allen, Nathan Kinnee and Joshua Kinnee; 19 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald; brothers, Curtis, Duane and Warren Lidbeck; and granddaughter, Amy Allen.

A private family memorial for Gladys and Gerald is scheduled for September, where Navy Military Honors will be accorded to Gerald.