Gloria Anna Waters was born to Genevieve and William Waters at their home in Glassboro New Jersey on the 16th of April 1926.
Gloria's childhood included the difficult years of the Great Depression; she attended High School during the early years of the Second World War. These were trying times for Gloria; seeing a classmate in uniform at that time meant that she would most likely never see them again. Graduation from Glassboro High School came in 1943, along with her entry into the working world of wartime production. Like so many of her generation, Gloria knew adversity.
Things brightened in the years that followed as Gloria met Conrad Salati of Berlin New Jersey. We often hear the phrase "one thing led to another", and the phrase was proven true as two young people with an interest in roller skating became two young people with an interest in each other. Spring flowers were blooming in time for their April 1951 wedding. The wedding pictures tell the whole story.
Children Bill, Bruce and Linda arrived, in that order, in the years that followed. These were her years of attending the then fledgling Saint James Lutheran Church of Pitman New Jersey, of watching her husband become a computer programmer before such things were routinely heard of, and of slipping out at night for a game of bowling that brought her a few trophies. Glassboro was Gloria's home for many of these years, followed by a small lakefront home in Monroeville New Jersey (Lake Gilman) as her children slipped off to work and college.
Gloria's son Bruce introduced her and Conrad to the beautiful town of Sebastian around the year 2000 and they easily adapted to life in Sebastian. Just as easily, they slipped into the congregation of Christ the King Lutheran Church. It was a wonderful time filled with new friends and neighbors; a time to help in the church office, a time to help with the food pantry in Roseland.
In 2004, Gloria experienced the fury of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. Her garage became a neighborhood meeting place as she demonstrated her culinary skills over the flame of a propane powered stove. A concerned son, who had asked a nearby resident to check on the welfare of his hurricane stricken parents, was informed that his mother was presiding over a multi-day neighborhood party in her garage.
Within a year, Gloria was to lose her husband of nearly 55 years to cancer. The years that followed brought increased participation in the church office at Christ the King Lutheran Church and in various ecumenical activities supporting the community.
Gloria was injured in a fall in December of 2015 and was not able to recover from the complexities associated with her advanced age and prior medical conditions.
Gloria entered The Church Triumphant on the morning of December 27th 2015. Gloria is survived by sisters Janet Joyce of Glassboro New Jersey, Terry Ryan of Sequim Washington, son Bill Salati of Sebastian Florida, son Bruce Salati of Palm Bay Florida, daughter Linda Tyler of Wokingham, Berkshire U.K., grandson Dante Salati of Bainbridge New York and grandsons Robert and Christopher Tyler of Wokingham, Berkshire U.K.
A Memorial Service will be held Sunday January 10th 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1301 Sebastian Boulevard, Sebastian Florida.