Gladys Marie (Goodman) Mixson Chambers
“a lover of children, people and fishing and story teller”
Gladys Marie (Goodman) Mixson Chambers is remembered
as sister, wife, mother, step-mother and grandmother as well as cousin, aunt
and dear friend. Gladys grew up in and
around
Gladys and sister Joyce used
to play together a lot. One job they had
around the farm was to keep the birds from eating the berries in the strawberry
patch. I hear they used to pretend to
build their houses at opposite ends of the rows of berries-then they would go
visit each other; they had to have something to do-the birds stayed away while
they were there. One time they became
bored. Gladys had the gun and they went down to the pond to shoot ducks. Don’t know if they shot any ducks but when
they returned to the patch, the birds were having a field day. Yeah, their Pa got mad at them-but they
probably learned a lesson in responsibility.
In those formative years she learned to shoot and
fish. I hear tell that if she left the
house with ten shells, she’d return with ten squirrels-and one time she got two
with one shot! Annie Oakley, watch out!
She really enjoyed fishing. It seems she must have known just how to hold
here mouth or spit on the hook to attract fish.
Whatever she did, she must have done it right because if anyone was
going to catch a fish, it was her. In
the later years she wanted to give her love and enthusiasm for fishing over to
the children and grandchildren. You
remember, Gladys was always one to share her joy. I have heard that she would even give her rod
to the children when she hooked a fish so that they could have the joy of
pulling one in themselves.
She loved children, everybody’s children; she’d feed
them, wash them and take them to Sunday School with
her. Gladys once told me while she was
in the hospital that some of her grandchildren had asked her to take them
riding on the tractor, down into the pasture to see the cows. Gladys wanted to go just as much as the kids did-she loved to share their happiness. How many times did she drop what she was
doing to go outside and play with the children. I think Gladys must have been an eternal
child in that sense-what love for kids.
She married J. C. Mixson and they had two sons born of
their marriage, James and Wayne. They
lost their dad in 1965 to cancer. But they all kept on; their world didn’t turn
sour.
Gladys not only was a homemaker and farmer but she
also worked outside the home. She packed
fruit for a while-her hands got awful sore.
She worked at the Tradewinds Restaurant for a
while. Wherever she sent, she always
made friends, friends of the lasting kind.
One day she went to work for the
She and Jimmy Chambers were married over ten years
ago. Jimmy’s four children became like her own. Did you know that Gladys and Jimmy shared the
same birthday-only the year was different to protect whoever was older. That was smart
of Jimmy-he never forgot here birthday!
Gladys was a great story teller-she could make a tale
come alive for you- and the kids loved to hear them over again and again! And the kid in us adults did too.
I hear that Gladys was a very loving but determined
lady. She and Jimmy both told me about
the time they were trying to load a big bull into the back of the truck. After the bull had pretty well demolished the
loading gate, Jimmy was ready to call it quits for that day. Gladys decided today was the day and it
wasn’t long before that bull was loaded on the second try. It wasn’t without its danger. I asked her if she was ever afraid of getting
behind an animal, twisting its tail and shoving it into a gate and up a ramp-animals that weighed two to five times her
weight! She told me meekly, “Yeah, she
did get scared sometimes.”
Gladys enjoyed cooking-she had the knack of being able
to make enough food appear at meal time as if by magic. If anyone was around at meal time, she always
had enough; she believed in sharing what they had.
I didn’t know until recently that Gladys was a camera
bug. She enjoyed taking pictures of especially you know
who-yep, the children. Even when they were gone home she still had them.
During those long days in the hospital, her days were
brightened by flowers, visitors and family.
Especially important to her were the pictures on the walls-not
Rembrandt’s or Da Vinci’s but the children’s
pictures; pictures and words drawn with their deep affection for Grandma. There was one that was put on the hallway
door that stopped many people in the hallway-they had to stop and read it; one
day it disappeared but it wasn’t long before another one appeared. This is the second one. It said: “There is a very wonderful,
thoughtful, lovable, bright, beautiful person in this room. So please be considerate while walking
in. Try no to slam doors, and please
make your visit short. She is our
grandma and we love her! Thank you, Mixsons.” I haven’t
figured it out yet how they created such a beautiful picture in simple art and
words-but it was signed, Syd and Inky-that’s the
dogs’ names!
All of this is to say, what a wonderful lady, what a
beautiful person, what a genuine Christian.
She’ll be sorely missed. She
cared so much for so many others.
Amen and amen.
Obituary: Gladys
Marie Mixson Chambers of
Excerpted from “In Honor of People Like Us”, V1,
By Dr. Kenneth V. Vickery
Vickery Books
Note: Maiden name “Goodman” not in original text.