Obituary of Gladys Ann Vawter
Gladys Vawter (90) passed peacefully at her home in St. Maries, Id on December 20, 2024. Gladys was born to her parents Feimster Eddie Morrison and Ellen May (Marshall) Morrison on January 13, 1934 in Lewiston, Id. She grew up on the family farm on a mountain top near Lapwai, Id. She graduated from Lapwai High School in 1952 as co-valedictorian. Gladys went to work for Idaho First National Bank in Lewiston. She married Ellis Vawter on April 4th, 1953 and in 1956 the couple moved to St. Maries to establish St. Maries Auto Parts. Gladys took care of the inventory and all things bookkeeping. In the early ‘70s she enjoyed horseback riding and going to local Gymkhana or O-Mok-See events in her free time until the ‘80s. She was always an avid fan of rodeos, draft horse events, and bull riding. Eventually she added football, NASCAR, and Gonzaga basketball, but throughout Gladys’s life the one thing she enjoyed was going to have coffee someplace each day and visit with people. This spanned from the old Mike’s Drug to Harvest Foods in 2023 when a stroke no longer allowed her to drive.
Ellis and Gladys sold the NAPA as it had come to be referred to in 1986. Thinking she still had numbers to crunch she took bookkeeping jobs in Lewiston at Henderson Motors and Duckworth Boats for about a year. She and Ellis then did some traveling. In the summer of 1989, she went to Bethel Alaska to help at a remote fishing camp that Ellis had enlisted to work for the season. In 1992 the two began a three-year stint at Johnson Creek Airport near Yellow Pine Idaho as camp hosts. There they met and formed lasting friendships with many fly-in campers and the few residents of Yellow Pine.
The next chapter of Gladys’ life centered around their home in St. Maries and Ellis’ rekindled love of gardening. He grew it and she picked and processed it. She broke away with the birth of her two grandchildren and helped with watching them until they started pre-school. Gladys and Ellis also became involved with the vintage snowmobile club of the Inland Empire participating in many events. Although she was not a member of Kiwanis, she worked alongside her husband in all of their fundraising efforts and was just as dedicated as Ellis was. It was about this time Gladys was told by her doctor she had to quit crocheting as she was damaging her shoulder to the point of needing an operation. This was a quiet relief to her family as she had amassed an incredible stockpile of afghans in every size and color. She loved to attend her grandkids’ football, volleyball, and basketball games even into her eighties.
Gladys is survived by her husband Ellis at the family home of sixty years, son Les (Dana) of Rose Lake, Son-in-law Eric Harris of Post Falls, grandchildren Mitchell of Boise, Libby of Coeur d’ Alene and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents F.E. and Ellen May Morrison, sister Ella Mae (Morrison) McMasters, and daughter Lyn. A celebration of life will be held at the Nazarene Church in St. Maries on January 12, 2024, at 12:00 pm.
