Gladys D. Sylvester

Gladys D. Sylvester Gladys Thelma Domenighini was born March 8, 1926, in Bandon, Oregon to Rosina Angelica Gambetta Domenighini and Bartol Fiorente Attillio Domenighini. She was the eldest of seven children who grew up on a dairy farm in rural, coastal Oregon under the guidance of their immigrant Swiss Italian parents. She is survived by three brothers, George, William, and Bartol, as well as her only sister Dolores; four daughters, Roxanne, Jane, Constance, and Marilyn; four grandsons, Craig, Clayton, William, and Andrew; and numerous nieces and nephews. Gladys attended Riverton High School where her life-long friend Velma Denson remembers her as one of the smartest students to ever graduate. She attended Los Angeles City College for one year and subsequently returned to Bandon to write for the Western World newspaper. She met, fell in love and married Donald Vallorous Sylvester in Bandon in 1950. In 1954, they relocated to Redlands, California (Donald's home town) with their two daughters, Roxanne and Jane, who were eventually joined by two more daughters, Constance and Marilyn, and a son, Bartol. Gladys was smart, articulate, and funny attributes she passed on in at least some measure to all her children. She expressed her love for family creatively in many ways. She taught her daughters to bake, and together they celebrated every holiday with long baking parties. She stayed at home devoting her life to her children, and continued to do so by returning to work in 1968 in order to help provide college educations for them. She was a devout Catholic and an active member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Redlands for more than 40 years. She worked for the County of San Bernardino for more than 20 years. Later in life, she happily returned to college to earn her Associate of Arts degree from Crafton Hills College. Gladys lived with Alzheimer's disease for the last 19 years of her life. Her husband and daughters cared for her through these years, as did numerous caregivers, who loved her as well. She died of causes related to Alzheimer's on July 1, the birthday of her beloved mother. Gladys was a loving daughter, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother. She leaves behind a large family that misses her dearly. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, husband and son, and a young niece. A Funeral Mass will be held for Gladys on Monday, July 12, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at The Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church located at 115 West Olive Avenue in Redlands. Gladys and her husband Donald will be interred together at Hillside Memorial Park in Redlands immediately following the Funeral Mass. Reception to follow.