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Gladys Nancy Hallin

Gladys Nancy Hallin passed away peacefully in her home, with her daughter Mary-AnnEva at her side, Wednesday Sept. 20, 2017.

Born in Jamestown July 28, 1929, to Swedish parents, Iris Matilda Hogstedt Lindberg and Klas Gustav Lindberg, Gladys was raised in Insjon, Dalarna, Sweden, after her family returned to Sweden in 1935. When she was 18 she married Arne Hallin and they had three daughters. In 1956,  the family of five emigrated from Falun, Sweden, to Jamestown, N.Y. 

Gladys first worked at the Sherman Brothers furniture factory in Brooklyn Square as a cutter, and then as a waitress at the Driftwood and Ironstone restaurants owned by Tom Ciancio. She later spent 15 years as the dining room hostess at the Moonbrook Country Club until she moved to Palm Springs, Ca., in 1983 to be closer to her aunt and uncle, Greta and Axel Linus, and her eldest daughter, Birgit and granddaughter, Erika.

While in Palm Springs, she worked for Interior Designer James Callahan. She later worked as a House-Staff-employee to Ambassador Walter Annenberg, Rancho Mirage Ca., where she personally met many dignitaries, celebraties and royalty, including George H. W. Bush, Gerald and Betty Ford, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas, Jimmy Stewart and many others. Gladys was in part responsible to care for the world famous Annenberg art collection, which is now permanently on display in the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was very well liked by the Ambassador and continued to work on the Annenberg Estate until her retirement.

She loved art, opera, classical music and travel. She was an avid china painter and began taking classes from Ida White while living in Jamestown at the YWCA. After moving to California, Gladys often traveled to several cities in the U.S. to participate in china-painting classes and to attend china-painting shows where she displayed her work. She also loved taking trips to Branson, Mass., where she attended performances by legendary violinist Togi Sabuchi. She traveled many times to Sweden to spend time visiting her brother Erik Lindberg; her mother, Iris Lindberg; and many family and friends.

Swedish tradition was never far from her heart. She instilled in her family deep appreciation for and a strong cultural understanding of Sweden and its customs. She had been a member of Viking Ingjald Lodge No. 65 and hosted many fun picnics at the Viking Lake Park on Chautauqua Lake with family and friends. Gladys was also a former member of the Thule Lodge No. 127 VASA Order of America, and participated in the Thule Drill Team. She had attended the former Swedish Salvation Army when the Major Lennart Carlson was pastor. She enjoyed Hedberg’s famous Swedish limpa rye bread, baking pepparkakor at Christmas, making Swedish meatballs, kaldolmars and yellow pea soup. She was a hard worker and very organized. She taught her daughters at a young age how to bake, sew and dutifully keep a clean and orderly home.

She is predeceased by her daughter, Birgit Margareta Hallin on Sept. 13, 2017; her daughter, Ingrid Kristina Carlson on Dec. 30, 1992; and her former husband of 22 years, Arne Hallin, in 2004. She is also predeceased in death by many loving canine companions: Tasha, Memphis, Kishi, Bobo, and feline friend Missy.

She is survived by a daughter, Mary-AnnEva Ingrao (Randall) of Falconer; her brother, Erik Lindberg (Kerstin); and family of Falun, Dalarna, Sweden; and her grandchildren, Lars Alleyn Ingrao of South Carolina; Nolan Randall Ingrao of Falconer, Erika Ann Dunning (Seth Rosenfeld) of San Fransisco Ca., Kristina Kathryn Decker (Todd), of North Carolina; and four great-grandchildren: Sofia Ingrao, Isaac Rosenfeld, Kaitlyn Decker and Ryan Decker. She is also survived by a step-brother, Russell Sullivan of Jamestown.

Gladys loved the mountains in the Palm Desert and Palm Springs area and the warm sunshine of the desert. She spent many years enjoying her time in California before returning to Jamestown in 2014.

We will miss her smile, warm hugs and strong spirit.

Light refreshments will be served for family and friends on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, between 5-7 p.m. at 515 Jefferson St., Jamestown, N.Y. Please join us.

Memorials may be donated to Chautauqua County Humane Society.

Visit our website www.falconerfuneral.net to send a message of condolence.