MADISON- It is with enormous sadness that I bring you the news of the passing of my beloved wife, Myrl Lorna (Dalglish) Gaydon on February 19, 2018. Myrl was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on June 9, 1931 and lived there for the first 28 years of her extraordinarily worthwhile and well lived life.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her four older brothers, Gault, George, Billy and Jim. She was the youngest of the five children of George and Olga (Logan) Dalglish and was intensely proud of her Scottish and Irish heritage. Myrl and her brothers were all enthusiastic and talented athletes in everything. Myrl’s lifelong competitive spirit was fueled by the drive to always compete head on with her feisty siblings.

Her four brothers all served in the Canadian Armed Forces in WWII. When she was only 13 years old, she suffered the tragic loss of her 19 year old brother, Billy, who was killed over France a few days after D-Day, in a RCAF mission to drop supplies to the French resistance fighters. In 1984, she accomplished one of the most inspiring experiences and greatest honors of her life, being the first and only family member able to pay homage at his lonely grave so far from home in the magnificent Canadian Military Cemetery in Normandy, France.

Myrl met her husband, Denis, in Ottawa 2 ½ years after he emigrated from England to Canada. We have been inseparable from our first date on January 24, 1958, and have always celebrated the date as equally as our wedding anniversary. Myrl and Denis were married in Ottawa on August 29, 1959, and left Ottawa the next day in their all-time favorite 1957 Chevy Impala for graduate school at Purdue University. Myrl put Denis through school, working as the Secretary to the Head of the Mathematics Department. After graduation we moved to Madison in early 1963, and have lived the last 55 years in the Brentwood Village Neighborhood.

Myrl was extremely involved in numerous charities and club activities for most of her life. Over many years she was active with the women’s city golf leagues, Madison Lakers Youth Hockey, the Madison Curling Club, Cherokee Country Club, Maple Bluff Country Club, most all water sports, and lots of golf, bridge and euchre.

The heart and soul of Myrl’s life has always been warm relationships with close family and friends, travel to places of significance and great meals that never skimped on great wines and desserts. Big hotels were very low on our list and farmhouse B&Bs in the U.K. and Ireland were very high. In Europe, we always sought out the small family inns and pensions and found countless great experiences with accommodation, food and fellowship.

Myrl’s heart-warming smile and personality have brought her many lifelong friendships. She kept them very much alive with upbeat Christmas letters and a very active memory for the names, hometowns, and meeting places of all of them. Personal friendships and leisurely meals, especially at Wisconsin style supper clubs and European restaurants with warm, friendly staffs, were a big part of her life.

Myrl is survived by her lovingly devoted husband of 60 years, Denis; her only child, William Gaydon; and her only grandchild, Sarah Gaydon. She is also survived by numerous aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews in Ottawa, Toronto and Saskatoon, Canada.

We are honoring Myrl’s often expressed wishes that there be no visitation or service. We will also honor her wish that after her cremation, and in due course, Myrl and Denis’ ashes will be combined and the urn returned to a very special place in Ottawa, Canada, where their beautiful and inseparable 60 years together, first began.

A casual celebration of Myrl’s life will be held from 12 noon until 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at Mariner’s Inn, 5339 Lighthouse Bay Drive, Madison.

Myrl bids a very fond and heartfelt farewell to all the wonderful family and friends who, for so many years, have so unforgettably touched her life.

Myrl’s family is very grateful and appreciative for the caregivers from SSM Health at Home Hospice, who have given such superb care to her in her final weeks.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

2418 N. Sherman Ave.

(608) 249-8257

Myrl Gaydon

June 09, 1931 - February 19, 2018

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