Greensburg woman lived life of service

Photo with paid obit.Customers at Waugaman’s market in Greensburg knew and loved Gladys Waugaman.

“So many customers would ask for her… they came into the store to see her, and she was just so kind and caring,” said her son, G. Lynn Waugaman.

Before working at the family grocery store, she was a nurse. And her spirit of caring extended to everything she did.

“She was the definition of a nurse,” Lynn Waugaman said.

Mrs. Gladys E. Waugaman, of Greensburg, died Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. She was 95.

She was born Sept. 3, 1924, to the late Emma Miller McWilliams and Amos Clyde McWilliams.

She and her husband, Harvey Waugaman, were high school sweethearts. During World War II, she was a nurse at the U.S. Army Kennedy Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., caring for injured soldiers. He was fighting in Europe and took part in the Battle of the Bulge.

When Harvey Waugaman came home from Europe, he planned to ship out for Japan soon — but first he and Gladys would be married.

On their wedding day, just before Gladys was to walk down the aisle, the streets erupted in celebration. Japan had surrendered. The war was over.

“The minister was late because he couldn’t get across town,” Lynn Waugaman said. “They said they didn’t know if they were married, because they couldn’t hear the minister over the sounds from outside.”

The Waugamans were active in their community. Harvey Waugaman was a firefighter, and his wife served on the ladies auxiliary.

“We were always involved in some sort of public service,” said her son, H. Byron Waugaman.

Mrs. Waugaman and her husband were proud of their service to their country. They traveled to Europe several times to mark major anniversaries of the Battle of the Bulge.

Mrs. Waugaman loved spending time with extended family, and served as the unofficial family historian.

She loved to sing. She got her start when she was 6, singing “Jesus Loves Me” on WHJB radio.

As an adult, she was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Greensburg, but the church had a professional quartet rather than a choir. She joined the choir at First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg so that she could sing on Sunday mornings.

“She made it work,” H. Byron Waugaman said.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harvey Waugaman.

She is survived by her sons, H. Byron Waugaman and his wife Kathleen, and G. Lynn Waugaman; and grandson Sean B. Waugaman.

Family and friends will be received from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Kepple-Graft Funeral Home, 524 N. Main St., Greensburg. Services will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday in the funeral home, with interment to follow in Westmoreland County Memorial Park.

Memorial donations may be made to to Trinity United Church of Christ, 139 N. Main St., Greensburg, PA 15601.