Gladys Martha (Abendroth) Prokop, 94, of Pender, died Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 at the Pender Community Hospital in Pender.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. with a prayer service starting at 7 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Pender. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery in Pender.
Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation.
Arrangements are under the direction of Munderloh-Smith Funeral Home in Pender.
Gladys was born Dec. 26, 1930, in West Point, to Ernest and Selma (Krueger) Abendroth. She attended country school at District 22 and District 29 in rural West Point. During the summer, she would babysit for neighbors, getting paid $2 per week, the next summer she was paid $5 per week. Gladys worked for Dr. and Mrs Anderson in West Point cleaning house, getting paid $15 per week. On Dec. 24, 1949 Gladys married Frank J. Prokop in West Point. The couple had four boys to this union: Kenneth, Ronnie, Duane, and Gary. Gladys helped Frank on the farm whenever she had a chance. She took pride in being able to drive the tractor when sewing oats or baling hay. Gladys had a love for animals, she raised a variety of poultry, helped milk the cows, and collected eggs from the chickens. Later in life, she started cooking at the Pender Care Center and the Lyons Manor.
Gladys enjoyed dancing with Frank and traveling to the Czech and Polka Day celebrations. She was a detailed scrapbooker and enjoyed listening to polka music and embroidering many pieces. Gladys was known in the Pender area as the Master Poppy Lady. She joined the Pender VFW Auxiliary in 1960, later serving as the president. When the Pender VFW disbanded, she became a lifetime member in Fremont. She was an active member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, serving on the Altar Society, and spending countless hours cleaning the church. Gladys loved her family and always wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.
Survivors include her sons, Kenneth (Shirley) Prokop of Wayne, and Gary (Maria) Prokop of Pender; grandchildren, Teresa (Jason) Foix, Tanya Prokop (Ryan Heiden), Gary, Jr. (Claudia) Prokop, Frank Prokop; six great-grandchildren; sister Shirley Schink of Oakland; many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Frank Prokop; sons, Ronnie Prokop and Duane Prokop; sisters, Alvera (Martin) Ludwig, Luella Abendroth, Dorothy (Willis) Gerwick, Elaine (Raymond) Schmoldt; brothers-in-law, Jerry Neiburg, Lee Schink; several nieces and nephews.
