Gladys E. Lao

Gladys Elizabeth Lao (nee Wiltshire and lovingly known as May Phwa and Bi Bi) passed away peacefully on 24 April 2020 in Houston, Texas at the age of 81 from heart failure due to complications with sepsis.

Gladys was born 8 August 1938 in Katha, Myanmar. She was the second youngest of nine children born to Robert and Muriel Wiltshire (nee Burns) and raised in Maymyo, Myanmar. Prior to her passing, she was the last remaining of her siblings.

Gladys married Ronald Lao on 5 January 1957 at Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in Yangon, Myanmar. Gladys will be joining her beloved husband who went to the Lord on 9 July 1990.

Gladys’ legacy lives on in Houston, Texas with her eldest child Hugh Robert Lao and daughter in law Kay Khine Lao, her eldest daughter in Sydney, Australia Mya Thida Tun and son in law Raymond Tun, and her younger daughters Mya Sabai Lao and Mya Thanegi Lao who also reside in Houston. She is also survived by her granddaughter Adeline Forrester and Adeline's husband Peter Forrester, and great grandchildren Marcus and Eleanor Forrester who all live in Sydney, Australia.

Gladys is loved by her extended family of in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews who reside across the United States, Myanmar, Thailand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Gladys will also be cherished as a founding member of the Greater Houston Burmese Christian Fellowship and was also an active member of Christ the King Episcopal Church, Houston.

Gladys moved to Houston in 1990 from Myanmar and has lived there ever since. Gladys was a homemaker who focused on caring for her husband, raising her children and grandchild for 40 years and only started her first job at the age of 58. She commenced working as an early childhood educator at St. Andrews Lutheran Early Childhood and St Mark Lutheran School in 1996 because she missed her granddaughter. Miss Gladys, as she was known by the children she cared for, worked for 10 years before retiring.

Gladys will be remembered and missed by many for her beautiful spirit, radiant smile and her kind, comforting and loving manner. Gladys will be laid to rest at Memorial Oaks Cemetery Houston beside her beloved husband Ronald Lao.

The family would like to thank everyone for their support, thoughts and prayers. Special thanks go to her primary physician Dr Levins who assisted with all aspects of her care for almost 30 years.