Gladys R. Haynes, 94, formerly of Libby

Gladys Rolseth Haynes, 94, was born March 8, 1918, to Ole and Ane Rolseth in Libby, Montana.  She died Aug. 28, 2012, at her home in Arlington, Va.  

She attended Libby public schools and was graduated from Libby High School in 1936 where she was an honor student and very involved in the music curriculum as the piano accompanist for individual and choir performances.  She also played with local dance bands.

Her dream was to become a nurse.  She earned her registered nurse credentials from the School of Nursing at St. Luke’s Hospital in Spokane, Wash., in September 1939.  

She began her nursing career in Wilbur, Wash., working for a doctor.  

In the fall of 1940 she returned home to Libby, Montana for a short while, practicing her skills there before accepting a position in San Mateo, California as a surgical nurse.

In 1941, Gladys accepted a civil service appointment as a nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.  

God blessed Gladys with a beautiful smile, a kind and loving heart, a passion to help others, and the courage and intellect to pursue her dream.  Gladys was the consummate nurse.

While working in Palo Alto, Gladys met Dr. Harry J. Haynes, whom she married on Oct. 18, 1947, in Grand Canyon, Ariz.  

She moved with Harry to Los Angeles, California where she worked as a nursing supervisor at the Brentwood Hospital for two years and then resumed her work as a nurse for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Westwood.  In 1953 Harry and Gladys moved to Arlington, Va.  

Gladys continued her work for the Veterans Administration at the Washington, D.C. Veterans Administration Medical Center.  During that time she advanced to the position of head nurse.

Gladys was an avid reader, an accomplished classical pianist, and a perennial student.  She attended UCLA, the American University, and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychiatric Nursing from the University of Minnesota.

Preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Harry J. Haynes, in 1997, her parents, Ole and Ane Rolseth, brothers Odin and Albert Rolseth, sisters Hilda McCallum and Borghild MacDonald, a niece, Bryn Nelson Miller, and brothers-in-law, Bud McCallum and Frank Nelson. Gladys is survived by sisters, Jenny Nelson of Libby and Thelma Darsow of Fircrest, Wash., brother-in-law, Norman Darsow, sister-in-law, Mary Lou Rolseth of Santa Rosa, Calif., 16 nieces and nephews, 35 great-nieces and nephews, friends, Stewart and Lelia Evans and their family, and caregivers, Elena Maldonado and Flora Maldonado and their families.

Gladys will be remembered by those who knew her as an exceptional human being who set a very high standard for all to emulate based upon her love for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A memorial service for Gladys was held at Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012.  

Gladys’ funeral service will take place in Libby at Christ Lutheran Church at 1 p.m. Sept. 29, 2012.