Gladys Grasse

Gladys Landis Grasse passed away peacefully in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday, February 26, 2022, at the age of 96. She was born January 17, 1926, in Blooming Glen, PA to the late Ephraim Moyer Landis and Mamie (Baum) Stover Landis. She was united in marriage to Anthony Meryl Grasse, MD, on July 5, 1952, in Blooming Glen, PA where they both grew up in the Blooming Glen Mennonite Church. Gladys was an accomplished Registered Nurse (RN, BS) and was dedicated to healthcare service throughout her life. She lived most of her life in Calico Rock, Arkansas, from 1952 to 2015, where she helped to found rural medical clinics, a hospital and a church. Gladys graduated in the Class of 1943 from Souderton High School in Bucks County, PA. She graduated with an RN degree from Grandview Hospital Nursing School in 1946, and a BS from Goshen College, Goshen, IN in 1949. She spent time at the historic Pennsylvania Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, PA as part of her nurses training. She worked at Grandview Hospital for a year after receiving her RN degree and then with Dr. Paul Nace’s clinic in Souderton, PA after college graduation. After Gladys’ marriage to Anthony Meryl Grasse on July 5, 1952, they moved to Calico Rock, Arkansas in August 1952, where they raised six children. Meryl had previously visited the area of Culp and Calico Rock as a potential location to establish a medical practice based on the local healthcare needs, which influenced their decision to locate in Calico Rock. The Mennonites had already set up a school and clinic in Culp, Arkansas, and were looking for a physician to serve in the area. Dr. Meryl and Gladys, with Meryl’s brother, John L. Grasse and his wife Mary Margaret, as a team effort, set up a medical clinic for outpatient care in Calico Rock in 1952. Gladys was a founding and active member of the Calico Rock Mennonite Fellowship. In 1956, the Izard County Hospital in Melbourne, AR closed suddenly leaving the county without a hospital. Dr. Meryl and Gladys decided to build the Medical Center of Calico Rock, a 10-bed hospital and clinic on twelve acres of land they had purchased, and the hospital opened in 1959. During the interim period after the hospital in Melbourne closed, Gladys took care of obstetrics patients, mothers and new babies, in the basement clinic in their house in Calico. Dr. Meryl and Gladys set up a temporary hospital, the ‘Little White House’, in a two-bedroom home, where they included a small operating room for surgeries and the delivery of babies. In the new hospital, Gladys worked in the operating room. Gladys worked with Dr. Meryl and the architects to plan and design the new hospital, including subsequent hospital remodeling projects through 2007. Throughout the years, there were several additions to the original hospital building to a total of 22 hospital beds. Gladys founded the Hospital Auxiliary for the Medical Center of Calico Rock and served as president for many years. In 1964 to 1966, Gladys and Dr. Meryl Grasse, moved to Nigeria, West Africa with their six children, to work at the Akahaba- Abiriba Joint Hospital and in rural healthcare. They also taught courses to midwives at the hospital. Gladys loved to travel with her husband and family, exploring many different areas of the world. She was an avid reader, a great cook, and entertained many guests in her home for dinners, holidays and overnight stays. There were often medical residents, medical and nursing students from the University of Arkansas for the Medical Sciences (UAMS), Little Rock, AR, who stayed in her home during training rotations at the hospital in Calico Rock. Gladys entertained many international visitors they met through travels abroad and she learned to prepare foods from many different cultures. Gladys was an extraordinary organizer of projects at home, with family, for travel, for church, and for the hospital and clinics. Gladys is survived by her six children: four daughters and two sons, Karen Grasse of Philadelphia, PA; Joel Grasse (Susan) of Rogers, AR; Mark Grasse of Dallas, TX; Chloe Grasse (Linford Martin) of Greencastle, PA; Carol Grasse (Abe Melendez) of Niwot, CO; Gwendolyn Grasse (Steve Voran) of Boulder, CO; five grandchildren, Joseph Grasse (Angela) of Omaha, NE; Joshua Grasse (Hannah Fall) of Spokane, WA; Hannah Martin (Clay Cordell) of Broadway, VA; Mariah Martin (Jonathan Augsburger) of Albuquerque, NM; and Elleanna Voran of Boulder, CO; two great-grandchildren, Jayden and Olivia Grasse of Omaha, NE and one brother, Ray Landis (Francis) of Goshen, IN. Gladys was preceded in death by her husband, Meryl; brother, Roy Landis and sister, Marian Martin. Roy is survived by his wife, Joan of Souderton, PA. Marian’s husband, John, is deceased. Professional services are entrusted to Dugan Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., Shippensburg. A Celebration of Life Service is being planned for Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Calico Rock, Arkansas. Cards and condolences may be sent to: Karen Grasse, 1900 JFK Blvd. Apt.1315, Philadelphia, PA 19103. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be sent in honor of ‘Gladys Grasse’ to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), PO Box 500, Akron PA 17501 or https://donate.mcc.org/.