Funeral service for Gladys Haas of Valentine will be held Tuesday, December 15th at 1:30 P.M. at the United Methodist Church in Valentine. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be held Monday, December 14th at 2:00 P.M. at Sandoz Chapel of the Pines.


Gladys Ellen Sharp 82 of Valentine, Nebraska passed away on December 11, 2015 in Valentine. Gladys, the sixth child of Martha and Rex Sharp Sr. was born on October 26,1933 at her parents sod house near Sparks Nebraska.

The Sharp family moved twice before settling on the family farm located two miles south of Roberts School. Gladys attended Roberts School first through eighth grade. During eighth grade she rode the family Shetland Pony Old Silver to Shadley Valley School for eighth grade exams. The ride to the exams went as planned but on the way home Old Silver sensed he was going home and took off on a dead run. Gladys managed to hang on but did lose her lunch pail on the fast ride home. With nine siblings, visiting family, and friends there was always memories being made at the Sharp household.

High School would be the next adventure and Gladys moved to Valentine where she roomed at the Ona Sharp house. There was one occasion where she went home for the weekend and ended up snowed in at home for about six weeks. She made it back to school in Valentine when a family relative Milan Sharp used his airplane to fly her to Valentine. She worried that school year whether she could get caught up but everything went good and she graduated in 1951.

After graduation Gladys worked at the Cherry County Court House. During this time she attended a dance with friends in Crookston where she met her husband to be Leland Haas. Leland was home on leave from the U.S. Army. Gladys and Leland were married on June 6, 1952 and made their home in Valentine NE.

In the early years of her married life, Gladys was a housewife while Leland worked for Clements and Miller Bros. Gladys and Leland moved to their family home they built at 215 Howe Street. It was during these early years of marriage they started their family. Eldon was born in 1953, Darrel in 1955, Elaine in 1956, and Janet in 1958. Leland and Gladys remained at the house on Howe Street until 1990 when they designed and built a new home on the north edge of Valentine. The Haas household was always a place where they enjoyed entertaining their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, relatives and friends. Gladys enjoyed her life working along side her husband as the secretary for their business Haas Texaco. After selling the station she continued to be an important part of their farming and ranching business. Most important to her was always her family and children. One of her biggest joys was being with her kids, grandkids and great grandkids.

Gladys passed away on Thursday December 11, 2015 at Cherry County Hospital in Valentine, Nebraska

Survivors include her children and their spouses: Eldon Haas of Valentine and special friend Sherry Morrow of Kearney, Elaine and Joe Novotny of Elyria NE, Janet and Bryan Hartmann of Valentine. Grandchildren Cody and Molly Gale, Chris and Brenda Gale, Chad Gale and Jessica, Mandy and Steve Wetz, Brent Novotny, Kendra Novotny, and foster grandchildren Tim Soltis and Craig Marsh. Great grandchildren: Jake, Tessa, Clay, and Cooper Gale, Collin, Bria, and Carissa Gale, and Caden Gale. Also surviving are three brothers Wayne Sharp of Sparks, Ron Sharp of Kansas, Bob Sharp of South Dakota, and one sister Martha Wergin and husband Richard of Oklahoma,sisters-in-law Dorothy Sharp of Hot Springs, SD,Sharon Swett and husband Don of Leadville, CO, Claris Haas of Valentine and brother-in-law Gail Haas and wife Loraine of Valentine. She was preceded in death by her husband Leland,son Darrel, parents, Rex and Martha Sharp, one sister Lola Kaplan, and four brothers, Lyle, Jake, Rex, and Kenneth.