Burial Date
Obituaries » GLADYS K. HAYDEN
HAYDEN, GLADYS K. BLAD, 92, of Saco, Maine, died on April 18 at Seal Rock Nursing Home, after a short illness. She was born May 24, 1921, in Barre, of the late Arvid Ingvald Blad from Idd, Norway, and Hareide Nelsine Johansen Blad from Brumundalen, Norway. She attended Barre schools and graduated from Spaulding High School in 1939. She married Andrew E. Hayden, from Montpelier, on Feb. 10, 1940. She and her husband started the A&W Root Beer stand in South Portland in 1958, moving from Vermont, and later opened the Dairy Queen Store in Saco in 1963 and the Dairy Queen Store in Biddeford. Andrew predeceased Gladys in 1991. She enjoyed the pleasures of her three children, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and her great-great-grandchildren representing five generations in her family. She also loved the quietness of her home, reading her favorite novels, listening to her music, and she enjoyed some light gardening as well as her quiet moments in contemplative prayer. Gladys is survived by her three children and their spouses, Michael Hayden and wife, Josephine, of Eden; Nancy Turner and husband, David, of Raymond, Maine; and Susan Fogg and husband, Michael, of Farmington, Maine; as well as eight grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Gladys was often referred to as Bestemor, meaning grandmother in Norwegian. She was predeceased by her two younger brothers, Arnold and John Blad. Arnold’s wife, Patricia, resides in North Syracuse, N.Y. A funeral service will be held Friday, May 2, at 1pm at the Dennett Craig & Pate Funeral Home, 365 Main St., Saco, Maine.
