Gladys Myra Weikle - Obituary

ladys Myra (Parker) Weikle, age 106, of Deale, Maryland, passed away from natural causes on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, just one month short of her 107th birthday. Known to all as “Grams”—a nickname bestowed on her by her grandchildren—it became the name by which she would be known for the remaining 30+ years of her life. Gladys was born on September 26, 1919, on the family farm in the Dufferin District near Cut Knife, Saskatchewan, in western Canada. She was the fifth of eight children born to Russell Delbert Parker and Annie Goodwin (Carswell) Parker. Gladys’ early years are a story of life on the vast, intimidating prairie, marked by harsh realities and hardship, mixed with fond memories and unbridled joy. In 1904, her father, Russell, moved to Canada from Michigan to acquire the prairie homestead on which he built a home and farm with a sturdy team of horses. Married to Annie Carswell in 1911, the couple had eight children between 1911 and 1926: Nora, Vera, Clayton, Elva, Gladys, Lyle, Mabel, and Hazel. Along with other Canadian prairie families of the first half of the 20th century, the Parkers were impacted by significant historical events and acts of nature. These included the First World War, a shocking worldwide influenza pandemic, the Great Depression, the devastating droughts and crop failures that created the dust-bowl conditions of the 1930s known as the “Dirty ’30s,” and finally, the Second World War. Throughout it all, the Parkers persevered and worked their farm as a family. Gladys remembered these years as a period of "hard times," but she was not fully aware of this until later in life when "times were better" and comparisons could be made. Despite the hardships, her childhood years were happy and uncomplicated. She remembered most vividly how she loved the Saskatchewan winters—playing in the snow, then going inside to warm herself by the living room heater, the cold and clear moonlight of winter nights, and the sleigh rides to school Christmas concerts. She fondly remembered the early morning hours of the fall harvest when she awakened to the sound of men's laughter from the kitchen and the smell of coffee and bacon. Harvest and threshing times were always exciting to the children. Gladys' memories of spring included the times when she, her siblings, and neighboring children met for a day of crow egg hunting. Among the not-so-fond memories were those times in autumn when she and her sisters had to follow behind their older brother, who set up the first sheaves of wheat stalks, leaving the stook to be completed by the younger children. Gladys and her siblings attended the Dufferin school, a public, one-room schoolhouse opened in 1908. In 1935, the school added a second room for high school students. One of her classmates there would one day become her husband and the father of her three sons. Shortly after she finished school, the British Commonwealth countries, including Canada, became embroiled in the Second World War. Those six years brought many changes to Gladys’ life. She worked for a time in Edmonton before returning to Cut Knife. In June 1943, she was married to Lt. Douglas Weikle of Cut Knife, the same young schoolmate she first met at the Dufferin school. Following a brief three-day pass for the wedding, Douglas returned to his unit, and, in late July 1943, his parachute battalion departed Halifax, Nova Scotia, en route to Scotland and England. Following the war, Douglas attended the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto and afterwards began his career in radio and television news at CFQC in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The couple's first son, Harlan Douglas, was born in the Cut Knife hospital on May 7, 1947. In October 1948, the young family emigrated to the United States as Douglas pursued his career in radio broadcasting. Their second son, Kim Aaron, was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin, on January 1, 1955. After moving to Grand Junction, Colorado, their third son, Scott Olaf, was born on March 31, 1959. The family moved to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota in 1961, where Douglas began working in television news at KSTP in St. Paul. The family’s final move came in March 1968, when they relocated to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., where Douglas joined the Federal government’s Voice of America to head the Southeast Asia Branch. Throughout her family’s history, Gladys embraced her role as a full-time mother, homemaker, and the heart of the home. She relished that responsibility—a timeless position of building a stable, warm foundation for her family. Gladys was a prolific provider of all things sewed, knitted, or crocheted, talents she learned from her mother and older sisters. She also played a little piano and the mouth organ (harmonica) throughout her life, and loved to tell the story of how she would abscond with her older brother’s mouth organ to play it. She laughed that he always knew exactly where to look for it! Gladys also loved making arts and crafts, a passion born from a childhood where they had to create their own gifts for holidays and birthdays. Her house was always beautifully decorated with her creations—knitted and crocheted afghan throws, painted ceramics, crocheted doilies, and hand-sewn baby-doll dresses. In her later years, Gladys began painting on canvas, focusing on flowers, landscapes, and farms. She eagerly learned from and was inspired by her talented sister-in-law, Mary, mastering techniques to paint on bottles, glasses, wooden stools, bowls, and just about anything else she could find around the house. These art projects brought untold joy to her later years. Gladys is survived by her son, Scott (Karen) of Deale, Maryland, and their children: son Thomas (Michelle) and great-granddaughters Emma and Nora of Edgewater, Maryland, and daughter Shannon of Bowie, Maryland. She is also survived by two grandsons (sons of her late son, Kim), Steven and Kevin of Bowie, Maryland, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and their families across the western Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, Russell (1883–1975) and Annie (1887–1973), and her seven brothers and sisters. Sadly, she was also preceded in death by her two oldest sons, Harlan earlier in 2026, and Kim in 2023. Family and friends are invited to celebrate Glady’s life on Saturday, September 5 from 10 am to 12 pm at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD. Interment is private. Online condolences and tributes may be made by using the memories link on this page.