Gladys Eloise Pocta, 82, Linton, ND, died August 13, 2017 in the comfort of her home.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, August 18, 2017 at Peace Lutheran Church, Linton with Pastor Sean Barnhart officiating.  Burial will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan, ND.  Visitation will be on Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Myers Funeral Home, Linton, where there will be a prayer service at 7:30 p.m.  Visitation will continue for one hour before service time at the church on Friday.

Gladys was born December 1, 1934 in Eureka, SD to William and Hulda (Babitzke) Puhlmann.  She attended country school through the 8 ^th grade and graduated from Forbes High School and Ellendale State Teachers College.  She also attended additional classes at Northern State and Valley City State Teachers College.

Her first teaching assignments were in two country schools in McIntosh County, followed by one country school in Emmons County, near the Missouri River.  As a country school teacher she was responsible for grades one through eight.  From there she accepted teaching positions in Lehr, Marmarth, Rolla, Karlsruhe, Portal and finally in Braddock.  She either taught first grade or first and second grade combined at each of these schools.

While teaching in Braddock, Gladys met Stanley Pocta and they were married on October 26, 1972 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Forbes.  After teaching for four years in Braddock, Gladys gave up teaching to become a full time farmer's wife.  Gladys and Stanley moved to Linton in 1982 although they continued to farm near Braddock until retirement in 1987.

In recent years, Gladys enjoyed several trips with her three sisters, highlighted by an Alaskan cruise and guided tours around Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.  Last summer they went on a week-long guided tour of North Dakota.

Gladys was a woman of very strong Christian faith and she lived her life according to those principles.  She was a member of Peace Lutheran Church in Linton and she was involved in various church activities through the years.

She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer and her partner Gerald Feist; three sisters, Vi Gessner, Rock Springs, WY, Arlene (Neal) Anderson, Great Falls, MT, and LeeAnn (Elvis) Rodlund, Ellendale, ND; one brother, Dennis Puhlmann, Forbes, ND, and her nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Stanley, one brother, William Puhlmann, and one brother-in-law, Larry Gessner.

Throughout her illness, Gladys never complained and she always maintained a positive attitude.  May she rest in peace.