Gloria Marie Ebacher, 102, Long Prairie

July 16, 1922 - July 20, 2024

Gloria Marie (Monahan) Ebacher died on July 20, 2024, surrounded by her family. Gloria was born on July 16, 1922, in Lawrence, MA, the only child of Cecelia Adelyne (Monahan) Thomas. At a young age, Gloria was determined to live her life differently. She was the first in her family to attend and graduate high school. Following high school, she completed three years of training and became an RN. In 1944, she enlisted in the Navy. She was stationed at Alameda Naval Hospital in San Diego, where she cared for sailors wounded in the Pacific during World War II.

After the war, she attended Simmons College in Boston. During a summer course, she met Joseph (Bill) Philias Ebacher, a student at Boston College. They married on September 14, 1947. Together, they raised nine children. In 1957, they moved from Ashland, MA to Cincinnati, OH, where they lived for 10 years while Bill taught French at Xavier University. In 1968, after her husband took a position at St. John’s University in Collegeville, they moved to Jacobs Prairie in rural Minnesota. Gloria was a psychiatric nurse at the Saint Cloud Veteran’s Administration Hospital. Gloria retired in 1973. After her husband’s death in 1974, Gloria designed and built a home in Collegeville. She later lived in St. Cloud, and, in 2014, she moved to Long Prairie, where she was amazed by the friendliness and warmth of the community.

She was proud of being a WWII veteran. In 2019, she was chosen as the Grand Marshal in the Long Prairie Memorial Day parade. After the parade, she gave the keynote address about remembering and honoring women who served in the military.

Gloria was a life-long learner. She was always reading and studying, especially topics related to exercise, nutrition, and aging. She participated in yoga classes and water aerobics into her 90’s. She also enjoyed gardening. Her Catholic faith guided her throughout her life.

Gloria was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Ebacher; her mother, Cecelia Thomas and stepfather, Joseph Thomas; her son, James Ebacher; her daughter, Corinne Dwyer and her husband, John Dwyer; and her grandchild, Mir Dwyer.

She is survived by her children, Paul (Mary) Ebacher, Thomas (Jan) Ebacher, Jerome (Dorothy) Ebacher, Cecile (Mark) Ferkul, Edward Ebacher, Susan (Thomas) Peck and Jonathan Ebacher; daughter-in-law, Patricia Ebacher; grandchildren, Katherine, Cecelia, Elizabeth, Jason, Tasita, Adam, Alivia, Benjamin, Dominic, Mara, Madeline, Miesha, Angela, Michelle, Diana, Cole, Destiny, Chantell, Jessica, Matthew, Brian, Christine, Shelby, Hailey, and Romen; and many great grandchildren. She is also survived by cousins John (Claire) Monahan, Marie (Monahan) Griffin, and Robert Monahan; nieces and a nephew, including Jeanine Fowler.

There will be a Rosary at 4 pm and visitation is from 4 pm - 7 pm on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at the St. Mary of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Long Prairie. A Mass of Christian Burial is at 11:00 am, Thursday, July 25, 2024 at the St John’s Abbey Church in Collegeville, with visitation one hour before and luncheon to follow. Burial, with military honors, following the Mass at St. John’s Abbey Cemetery. Memorials preferred to St. Mary of Mount Carmel Catholic School in Long Prairie.

For Gloria's 100th Birthday, she put together a booklet about her life. Here is a link:

https://www.dancingtheland.com/determined-to-be-different.html

From this link, you can read, print, and save a copy of the booklet. It works best on a computer, but on a cell phone, you'll need to download the file to read it.

Cecile