Gladys Aston passed away on Monday August 20 after a long illness. She was 75. Gladys worked side by side with her husband Richard, and later her daughter Mary Miller making cakes for the residents of the Park Cities and Dallas at the now 78-year old Aston’s Bakery.
Born in Minnesota on March 28th 1937, Gladys Irene Johnson was the 11th of 12 children. Her parents were small farmers. She worked at National Foods as a baker, and met Richard Aston who was doing an internship for Dunwoody College. They married, and in 1970 moved with their daughter Mary to Dallas where Richard’s father had opened Aston’s Bakery in 1934.
This afternoon Amy Severson stopped by the bakery and spoke with Mary. Mary said that even when her mother was no longer able to come into the bakery, she would call several times a day to find out if everything was being handled correctly. Her mother’s concern for taking care of their customers extended to her dying wish to her husband: “If I die overnight on a workday, please don’t call Mary [to help me] because there’s nothing she can do and she needs to get them [customers] their cakes.” When Mary took over the day-to-day operations and moved it to Lovers Lane, she became the first of the third generation to run the bakery.
Gladys is survived by her husband, Richard, daughter Mary and husband Jeff Miller, and grandchildren Garrett and Mallory. Services will he held on Monday, August 27th, 1:00 at North Dallas Funeral Home. Donations in Gladys’ memory may be made to either Operation Kindness or The Family Place.
