Gladys Fulton

Gladys Lillian Fulton, nee Walker, was born in the 7^th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 27^th, 1933, the youngest of two children, to Sidney Walker Sr. and Ester P. Rodrique. Despite being born in the midst of the Depression, as a child, Gladys’ precocious nature and adventurous spirit was not only tolerated by her indulgent parents but very much encouraged. She artfully managed to escape many regular chores and responsibilities, like any form of cooking or kitchen work, by gleefully sneaking out the side door of their home to ride in her friend’s goat cart or roller skate on the icy sidewalks in winter. She managed to escape chores save one, collecting eggs from the enormous brood of chickens that her father kept, distributing eggs to any neighbors in need on their street before heading out to school.

She attended Booker T. Washington High School where she much preferred performing in operettas and singing in the Glee Club to her academics. She was well known to engage in spitfire debates with her teachers when she wasn’t prepared for a lesson much to their consternation and her father’s secret delight. He often told her she would make a fine country lawyer one day. Gladys participated in basketball and track & field as well as becoming a drum majorette, then cheerleader and finally a Charm Girl, a small high school clique, that aimed to set fashion standards despite the hard times, with clothes sewn by her father’s sister, Lillian, out of the pretty cotton patterns that lined the chicken feed sacks.

It was an unfortunate turn that her mother succumbed to breast cancer when Gladys was only 16 years old. Her mother’s battle instilled in her an independence that carried her throughout her life. She left High School and decided to join the workforce. With her brother away in the Army, Gladys and her father moved to a shotgun house and happened to become neighbors with the uncle of her future husband, Augustas P. Fulton. They met through Uncle “Dub’s” matchmaking campaign after Augustas came home from his stint in Korea. His plans had him bound to move West in the Great Migration to California where the jobs were plentiful. Upon proposing, Gladys soon followed and stayed at times with Augustas’ sister Seena and his brother and sister-in-law, Unis and Grace, until they were married on January 22nd, 1955. Not long after, they were blessed with their first child, Augustus P. Fulton, Jr., “little Gus”, in December and 5 years later, a daughter, Diane Lorraine. 

Throughout motherhood, Gladys felt the need to work to enhance their income and achieve the lifestyle to which she aspired. Several jobs preceded her longest held occupation at Deluxe Check Printers where she spent 25 years working her way from the entry level position of hand stitching checkbooks together, to an office position as a Bank Document Analyzer. At Deluxe, Gladys made numerous lifelong friends. 

During these years, Gladys was bitten by the travel bug and made several excursions around Europe by train and auto. She visited England, France, Germany and parts of Italy, but fell immediately in love with Switzerland, her favorite country, more for the chocolate than the cheese. Though she never made it to Sweden, it might explain her insatiable preference for Volvos.

Gladys’ tenacity for achieving her goals, her quick wit and unabashed retorts, were the qualities that her friends and family admired. Even in advanced age, her spirit remained adventurous and interested in all things beyond the immediate with a zest that should be a treasured memory to all who knew her. 

She was preceded in death by her son, Augustus Jr., her brother, Sidney Walker Jr., and her husband, Augustas Sr. She is survived by her daughter, Diane Lorraine, a cousin of her generation Audrey Jeanmarie and a host of 2^nd and 3^rd cousins as well as many nieces and nephews.