Published in the March 24, 2017 edition.
WAKEFIELD — Gladys Irene Corbett was born in Blackburn, UK, on May 5, 1927. She died on March 17. She had a wonderful life.
She was the daughter of Rose (Henry) and Sidney Terry and beloved wife of Everett E. Corbett.
She is survived by her two loving and devoted children, Barry E. Corbett and Donna I. Corbett of Wakefield; her surviving brother Peter Terry and his wife Lena and their family in Dallas, Texas; her nephews Robin Terry and his wife Kathryn, and Martin Terry, his wife Jill and their children in the UK, both sons of her brother Sidney Terry, and his wife Elsie Terry who pre-deceased her.
Gladys’ formative years made her a survivor as she grew up experiencing the horrors of World War II. Growing up in Ilford, a city now part of greater London, with her two brothers, she slept in the fortified coal shed always hoping not to hear the silence of doodlebug overhead, because that is when they dropped, destroying homes on her street and even causing a fire on the roof in her own home. It was a childhood no one should have, one where she anxiously had to wait for her father to come home from his rooftop watches in London during the Blitz. Her parents did send her and her younger brother to Bottisham in Cheshire and also back Blackburn to family friends for a while when the war was overwhelming.
Irene, as many knew her in later years, grew into a bright, inquisitive and adventurous young woman. She worked in the office of a local construction company that helped rebuild the devastated communities after the war. She could add multiple columns of numbers faster than a comptometer! She went to the theater in London when she could and learned to enjoy life. One of her favorite memories was her first trip after the war to Switzerland with a friend, where they ate fruit and cream they had not had since before the war.
She met the love of her life after the war in London and she married Everett E. Corbett on December 2, 1950. She also fulfilled her dream of sailing to America on the Queen Mary! As an American Army soldier regularly assigned to JUSMAG sites, Ed was stationed all over the world – Germany, Japan, Philippines, as well as multiple sites in U.S. His family always went with him, and Gladys never missed an opportunity to travel and see the world around these assignments. She was always active in different volunteer opportunities such as serving as President of Wives Club and doing outreach to orphanages.
When Ed retired from the service in 1965, the family moved to Wakefield. Gladys went back to work, had a number of jobs in retail and finally retired from an office manager position in a real estate firm in 1989.
When her husband died in 1978, Gladys continued to work and got actively involved in supporting state politicians. She traveled frequently to see her family in Britain and Texas, as well as friends in Delaware and Virginia. She took many trips to Europe with her brother Sidney, his wife Elsie and their son Robin and his wife Kathryn. She traveled around the US too, to New York City, Nevada, California to name a few of her favorite trips.
Her last trip to the UK to was in 2008 with her daughter. In her later years her favorite trips were to the ‘Sun’ casino with her son Barry.
Gladys’ life will be celebrated by her children for the rest of their lives.
