Gloria Jane VanDemmeltraadt

Gloria was born August 28, 1941 to Everett Joseph and Janet Tyler in Hadley, Minnesota. She married Gerald Shigley in 1959. The couple divorced in 1966 and Gloria moved with her three children to St. Cloud, MN where she worked during the day at Honer Insurance Agency and sang at The Hub piano bar in the evenings where she met Gene Cannon. She married Gene in 1969 and became a stay at home Mom for a family of 6 children until 1985 when the couple moved to Lake Elmo, MN. She has been a member of Christ Lutheran Church since that time, singing in the choir, leading Bible studies and generally a dynamo of the congregation. Gene passed away in 2002. 

Gloria married Onno VanDemmeltraadt in 2004 and was frequently heard to say recently how blessed they have been to have had 20 years of marital bliss. The couple have enjoyed many grand adventures through travel and have created a massive, blended family with great success.

Gloria has shared her voice of an angel through many avenues throughout the years in performances in musicals, choirs, countless weddings and funerals and even events with 2 separate US Presidents in audience. She began the gift to others in writing life stories through the Hospice volunteer program many years ago and has also taught classes on this subject in the local area. She was an award winning author of 10 books, a regular on local television here in the Twin Cities and a sought after public speaker.

Gloria is survived by her husband, Onno of Oakdale; children, Greg (Lori) Cannon of New Port Ritchey, FL, Renee Cannon (Charles Edmond) of Clearwater, MN, Paul (Fabia) Cannon of St. Cloud, MN, Mark (Susan) Cannon of Mora, MN, Karen Ellefson of Foley, MN, Lee (Sara) Cannon of Portland, OR; step-children, Mark (Sharon) VanDemmeltraadt of Lake Elmo, MN, and Jennifer VanDemeltraadt (Perry Sevilla) of Stillwater, MN; brother, Bruce (Cassandra) Tyler of Elk River, MN; 19 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren with another baby boy on the way. She was preceded in death by husband, Gene; son-in-law, Steven Ellefson; sister, Frances and brother, Neal.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at Christ Lutheran Church in Lake Elmo for Gloria Jane VanDemmeltraadt who passed away suddenly Monday, April 29th at Regions Hospital at the age of 82. Friends and family may visit one hour prior to service also at the church. Arrangements have been entrusted to Bradshaw Funeral Home of Stillwater. 

Some memories from Paul:

How to remember a musical, spiritual dynamo like our mother, Gloria Van Demmeltraadt? Born on August 28, 1941 to Everett and Janet Tyler, third child of four, Gloria was a shy girl of delicate health, who grew up with music and words. She married Gerald Shigley at the age of 19, and very quickly had a son, Paul, followed 16 months later by son Mark, and four years later, daughter Karen came along to join the family.  Gerald and Gloria divorced, and after some hard years, Gloria met and married Gene Cannon, who had two children of his own, Greg and Renee, and Eugene Lee Jr (Lee) arrived  in 1970 to complete the family of eight.  Life got much better, if not less busy, for Gloria, as she found a wonderful life in music and theater.  Gloria adapted to life with six children, and dove headlong into community involvement.  She joined the ElDears, ladies auxiliary of the Elks Club, of which Gene was a long time member, and found joy in the musical revues with the ladies of the club.  Gloria became a central member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church choir, eventually joining two Minnesota Chorale groups and touring with the Sweet Adelines.  Singing was her gift to hundreds of community members, and she shared it with gusto and joy.  When Gloria and Gene moved from St. Cloud to Lake Elmo in late 1985, they found a welcoming congregation at Christ Lutheran Church in Lake Elmo, and Gloria became a central member of the choir there. Gloria began her writing career in Lake Elmo, penning a history of Lake Elmo.

Life threw Gloria and Gene a few curveballs, but they stood together through the storms, until Gene’s cancer finally took him away from her in 2002.  She leaned on her friends and the church, and the Lord saw fit to bring Onno VanDemmeltraadt, a tennis-playing, bright Dutch widower into her life, and they married in 2004. Two families merged again around Gloria, and the mixture proved to be magical. Onno’s family and Gloria’s family came together like pieces of a familiar puzzle, and the love multiplied. Gloria expanded her writing, penning life stories for hospice patients and their families as a volunteer, and writing her own story, Musing and Munching as a memoir and cookbook. She later wrote an incredible account of Onno’s life in Darkness in Paradise and a series of mysteries, the Deep Lake novels, and two childrens books, too! Onno introduced Gloria to the wonders of world travel through many shared adventures, and their partnership flourished.

In her final week, Gloria sent the completed draft of her fourth Deep Lake novel to the publisher, and that weekend, she found her way to the reward of all good Christians and is now adding her incredible voice to the choirs of angels. The incredible, ceaseless smile, level of energy, kindness extended to others, fierce love for her family and friends and her amazing sense of fun will be forever cherished.

If a donation is desired, please direct to Lakeview Hospice at https://www.healthpartners.com/foundations/lakeview/donate-now/