The funeral service for Gladys (Tesch) Battey will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Lutheran Church in Waldorf. The Rev. Michael Matthews will officiate. Interment will be in the First Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation one hour prior to the service at church. Friedrich Funeral Service in New Richland is assisting the family.

Gladys Battey passed away on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, at Colony Court Memory Care in Waseca. She was 98 years old.

Gladys was born on July 14, 1915, in Byron Township to Alfred and Elizabeth (Kain) Tesch. She attended Waldorf High School and was a resident of Byron Township her entire life. She was confirmed on March 24, 1929, at the Freedom Church and was a member of First Lutheran in Waldorf. On June 16, 1938, she was united in marriage to Louis Battey. Together they raised three children.

Gladys was a homemaker and mother and often helped out at the family farm. She candled eggs at Musser’s in New Richland in the early ’50s, spent eight years at Land O’ Lakes and over 20 years at EF Johnson’s in Waseca where she was a Lead Lady. After her retirement in her early ’60s, she and Louis loved to travel the country in their RV, staying at Coast to Coast Campgrounds and wintering in Texas. She was a member of the New Richland Garden Club, the Farmettes and Ladies Aide at First Lutheran Church.

Gladys had a passion and a vast knowledge of flowers which extended beyond her home and into the community. She loved visiting with people and would often visit the shut-ins from church, bringing each of them a gladiola. She was known as the “Flower Lady” at Colony Court where you could see her distributing flowers to all of the residents whenever a floral arrangement was brought in. She was a hard working woman who loved her family. She will be deeply missed.

Gladys is survived by her children Clarence (Eileen) Battey of New Richland, Bonnie (Edgar) Dinse of Owatonna and Patricia Coy of Waldorf; grandchildren, Laurie (Paul) Riemer of Siren, Wis., James Battey of Owatonna, Jeffery (Linda) Battey of New Richland, Linda Battey of North Branch, Jerry (Lori) Battey of New Richland, Brenda (Wes) Watson of Virginia Beach, Va., Darla (Jon) Ferch of Owatonna, Dawn Goebel of St Paul, Diana (Mike) Zimmerli of Wabasso, Donna (Bill) Luttinen of Stillwater, Steven (Jen) Coy of Jackson, Mo., and Thomas (Sara) Coy of St Michael; great-grandchildren, Bobby, Jeffery, Eric, Michelle, Paulette, Nicole, Xylana, Ken, Melinda, Matthew, Josh, Courtney, Garrett, Nathan, Jonathan, Daniel, Emily, Dean, Alan, Beth, Alexandra, Grant, Mackenzie, Russell, Lily, Sawyer, Bailey and Jackson; nine great-great-grandchildren; sisters Ann Worke of Waseca and Rosa Fogal of Owatonna; sister-in-law, Elaine Tesch of New Richland; many nieces and nephews; and other loving relatives and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Alfred and Elizabeth; husband, Louis; son-in-law, Ronald Coy; great-granddaughter, Bridget Battey; and siblings, Carl Tesch, Sophia Hedberg, Pearl Maurer and John Tesch.