Gladys Thomas Titsworth was born January 16, 1905 in Indian Territory
and died on Jan 20th, 2000 in Tulsa, Okla. She was the last surviving of the 9 children of James H. and Eugenia Thomas who were Tulsa pioneers of Cherokee decent. The family had a zest for living and an entrepreneurial spirit, owning several businesses and properties in town. Gladys enjoyed her privileged childhood, attended Tulsa High School and was inseparable from her two younger sister, Helen and Celia. She drove her mother around Tulsa in an electric car and bought Tulsa's first LaSalle roadster in 1927. No long after, a tragic one-car accident killed Helen and fatally injured Celia and hospitalized Gladys for 7 months. Other family tragedies haunted her life, but Gladys always kept a sense of optimism and humor. She worked at McDonald-Douglas during WWII and was a hostess at Crown Drug Store, 4th and Main Street when she met Clarence Titsworth. They married in 1947, and she became a step-mother to Marian and Jim Titsworth. She managed apartments and worked as manager for day care at Tulsa Psychiatric Foundation for 6 years. She took faithful care of Clarence following a stroke in 1979 until his death in 1984. Gladys saw Tulsa go from dirt streets to high tech in her lifetime. She loved to read and learn new ideas. She lived alone and drove her own car until 4 years age. She was skilled at knitting and taught others to knit, donating items to Emergency Infant Services. She became a Christian in her latter years which gave her peace in a difficult situation. Gladys was a good friend to many and beloved aunt to Jim and Christy Thomas and their children. She is survived by Step-daughter, Marian Dingman of Yuma, Az, Step sons, Jim Titsworth of Tulsa area and Robert Worth of San Diego, Ca. and 4 step-grandchildren, great nieces in California and her childhood friend, Ruth Chance.
