Gladys Tupy, 91

Gladys Tupy died peacefully on November 15, 2023. She was 91 and the youngest of six children born to Charles and Josephine Sticha in New Prague, MN.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM Tuesday November 21, 2023, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Owatonna, MN. Friends may greet the family from 9:30-11:00 AM at the church. A parish rosary will be recited before the visitation at 9:15 AM. Interment will be at St. Wenceslaus Cemetery, New Prague.

Being the baby of the family, youngest sister to four older brothers and one sister made Gladys fierce in her convictions. She had a heart of gold for family and anyone in need.

Gladys met her husband, Joe Tupy, on a blind date in 1946. They married on June 15, 1950, and spent the next 72 years by each other’s side raising their cherished family; attending school, family, church, and work events. Both Joe and Gladys worked for Owatonna Tool Company (OTC) from which they retired after working for more than 30 years.

In her spare time, Gladys loved to garden, often growing all of the fruits and vegetables to sustain the family! She took up golf, and was an accomplished seamstress. Her favorite pastime, however, was traveling with Joe. They loved the open road and had a huge world map in their basement crisscrossed with different colored strings: all of their travels tracked by mode: boat, plane, car, and motorcycle. They were die-hard Harley Davidson enthusiasts and survived more than a few scrapes to tell about it!

Gladys was an amazing cook and baker, truly gifted with the ability to do both intuitively. She never measured anything. This drove recipe-seekers crazy (“you know, about this much”) and she could always tell just by feel if there was enough flour in the batter for those delicious Czech kolaches; homemade dumplings and freshly baked loaves of bread. Everything always came out perfectly and delicious every time. And we all bought bigger pants and loved it.

She once told of bread baking on the farm and how several loaves would need to be baked daily to feed her hardworking brothers, since they each ate at least one loaf apiece!

Gladys is survived by her son Joe Jr.; daughters Gigi Sims (Mike Allwein), Marlene (Marty) Schroeder, Diane Rouse (Mike), Kathy McEvers (Bruce), Cindy (Doug Green); son-in-law Jerry Schroepfer, 25 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by her husband Joe, daughter Mary Jo Schroepfer, sister Josie, and brothers Charles, Robert, Ed, and Joe.

Special gratitude goes to the caring and compassionate staff members at Birchwood Cottages, and Brighton Hospice, Owatonna.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation be made in Gladys’s memory to St. Mary’s School or St. Joseph Church in Owatonna. For more information or to leave an online condolence message go to www.megercares.com.