Gladys J. Ecock

   We have joined together today to pay tribute to Gladys Ecock who has now
completed the final phase of her life. When we think about her, and the antics she
got up to over the years, she gave us many happy memories plus those we
privately think about. She has touched our hearts.
   Mom (Gladys) was 90 years of age was always the glass half full type of
person. She would love to have company and would always have the coffee on. If
you were having dinner at Mom’s, you would have roast beef, baked potatoes and
some type of frozen vegetable. That was about the extent of her dinner menu but
she made a great breakfast.
   She was the second child of five: Doris, Gladys, Jacqueline, Joseph and
Lorraine along with her mother Gladys Adelaide and her father Joseph, lived in
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. She married early in 1952 to William Ecock, and had
her first daughter Barbara in December that year. After five years she had her
other daughters Leigh Ann and Lauren Ann. The twins kept us all hopping and I
(Barbara) learned to change diapers at five years old. I remember when I turned
18 years old, my Mom came in and sat on my bed, and told me she was so glad I
was 18. Her reasoning was; because if something happened to her, I was
responsible for the twins. My first thought was “Holy Maceral – me in charge of
two 13 year olds. I should run away.” Even with the age difference we grew up
close to each other, as Mom insisted because when we will get older, she said “we
will only have each other to count on.” She was a stickler about the three of us
staying close.
   We Remember Them
   At the rising of the sun and at its going down,
   We remember her.
   At the blowing of the wind and the chill of Winter,
   We remember her.
   At the opening of buds and the rebirth of Spring,
   We remember her.
   At the blueness of the skies and the warmth of Summer,
   We remember her.
   At the rustling of leaves and the beauty of Autumn,
   We remember her.
   As long as we live, she too shall live,
   For she is a part of us, as we remember her.
           By an unknown poet.
   As we grew up her family expanded as Barbara married Roy Berntsen, Lauren
married Dara Eskenazi and Leigh Married Roger Thoms. She was so excited that
we all found people we were happy to be with, and she realized we would always
be taken care of, in her eyes. She was a true believer in “Happily Ever After.” With
her growing family she loved to celebrate the holidays and we celebrated with
Margaret and Knut (Roy’s parents) for Thanksgiving and Christmas at Barbara’s
home. Leigh had moved to San Francisco but we saw her as often as we could, but
we did call every time.
   A cute story of Mom: One winter afternoon when we were about 5 years old,
Roy’s dad made us a 4-foot-tall ski hill for us to learn how to ski down a hill and

not fall. Mom heard us from the window next door and thought she would give it a
try. She had a big puffy coat and shorts so she would not ruin her good pants. We
laughed and she did get cold, but she made it down the hill.
   In 1968, she bought a bungalow in Saratoga, NY and it was her favorite place
to stay. Working for New York Racing she would stay in Saratoga for the month of
August and later, after retirement, she would spend the summer there. Many
would head up to visit and when the grandchildren came along: Kristin, Roy Jr.,
and Kathi. It became the family favorite vacation spot. That area of Saratoga Lake
is beautiful and very relaxing. It is a place where we would swim, boat, and head
north to Fort Ticonderoga and Lake George.
   She worked in Saratoga, Aqueduct, and Belmont Race Tracks throughout her
career where she met her beau William Corker. They were together for 44 years.
He was the grandfather to Mom’s grandchildren, the great-grandfather to her
great-children: (Kristin’s children) Krystal and Andrew, and most importantly he
was the love of her life. Mom spent all her summers, together with family. She
retired to Boynton Beach Florida. Then Mom and Billy would come up every year
for the whole summer. In the most recent years she spent 2 ½ years living back in
Valley Stream with Barbara. She was excited to attend her great-granddaughter
Krystal’s wedding to Nicholas Frenzo. It was a beautiful day and she was so happy
to share their wonderful occasion. She also witnessed her great-grandson
Andrew’s engagement to Erika Kampel. She loved that our family was growing.
   In time we will heal from the heartache and the happier memories will come.
Our remembrances will become thoughts of precious moments, and our lives
become filled with wonderful memories. We are so thankful we’ve had her in our
lives for so many years.
I will end with this Chinese proverb.
   If you want happiness for an hour take a nap.
   If you want happiness for a day go fishing.
   If you want happiness for a year inherit a fortune.
   If you want happiness for a lifetime help someone else.
 That was our mother.