Gladys A. Ehlers, 86, of Austin, Minnesota, died Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Home.

Gladys was born July 21, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Anthony and Emma (Nazzaro) Picone. She graduated from Needham High School in 1949 and the Ambler School of Horticulture for Women at Temple University in 1951. She married Ervin Ehlers in Wayland, Massachusetts, in 1961.

Gladys’s education led her to a lifetime of sharing her gifts of creativity, first in the Boston area, then from her country home north of Austin, where she owned “Creative Designs.” She was employed by Johnson Floral and Hy-Vee Floral in Austin and Rochester Floral. She was often asked to present programs on floral designs and also taught Community Education classes. She was a member of Business and Professional Women, the YWCA and Zonta.

She enjoyed volunteering as a chaperone during the Miss Minnesota Pageants and she was a board member of the Wilbur Sayles Lay Music Ministry Mission in Austin.

Gladys was a faithful member of First United Methodist Church, where she was an active member of United Methodist Women, Koinonia, Questers and the Mission Outreach Team. She especially enjoyed going on mission trips and helping with “Feed My Starving Children” events.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ervin; and her parents.

Gladys is survived by her sister-in-law, Mildred Ehlers; niece, Mary (Richard) Daniels; cousins, Ada Twomey, Lorel Nazzaro, Zita Hansen, Rosemary Hamel, and Edward Nazzaro; and many friends.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Dennis Tamke officiating. Interment will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens in Rochester, Minnesota. Visitation will be at the church on Thursday for one hour before the service. Memorials may be directed to First United Methodist Church or The Hormel Historic Home.

Clasen-Jordan Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.