Florence Polson Gildow, Matriarch And An Accomplished Musician

Chris Gildow recalls how his grandmother Florence Polson Gildow used to reminisce about the old days, growing up on the family farm in Skagit County.

She'd talk about the farm equipment and the structured way of life country living demanded: a set time for cooking, cleaning and other responsibilities.

But when Mrs. Gildow talked about the old days there was always a special dimension to her stories.

For Mrs. Gildow was descended from pioneer stock in this state: Her grandfather, Thomas Hayton, was a member of the convention that drew up the state Constitution in 1889, and her father, Alfred Polson, was a former postmaster of Mount Vernon and civic leader in Skagit County.

Perhaps the greatest legacy passed on to Mrs. Gildow, who died of heart failure Sept. 12 at the age of 89, came from her mother, the former Cora Hayton.

It was the gift of music and a love of learning.

While her mother reached only the eighth grade, Mrs. Gildow, an accomplished violinist and pianist, graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Ohio and also attended Oregon State University.

She taught music in the Kirkland schools, gave private piano lessons in her home there and directed church choirs.

For many years, she directed the chorus at Panorama City, a retirement community in Lacey, Thurston County, where she and her husband, the late Dr. Elton M. Gildow, moved in 1970.

Mrs. Gildow's sister, Edna Noftsinger, also of Panorama City, said their mother "urged us to get our education and make something of ourselves." So did their father.

That philosophy evidently was passed on to the following generations as well.

"Grandma never stood still," said Chris Gildow. "She always talked about doing something to better your own personal life. She always liked to see the grandchildren go through college," said Chris Gildow, an artist who lives in Richmond Beach.

In addition to her musical prowess, Mrs. Gildow also had a talent for art. She made lamp stands with intricate mosaic patterns of cut glass, and she also did artwork with clay and ceramics, her grandson said.

The artistic vein appears to have run deep in the family, Chris Gildow said. Not only is he a painter, but Elton C. Gildow, his father and Mrs. Gildow's son, is a retired architect.

But music was her life, said Edna Noftsinger.

As a child Mrs. Gildow learned to play the violin and piano, Noftsinger said. Their mother had been a self-taught musician, specializing in organ and piano. She, too, had directed the choir of First Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, as well as some local operettas.

Noftsinger sang in the chorus at Panorama City, which averaged 30 or 40 people. She said her sister was a demanding taskmaster. "She would do nothing unless she could do it perfectly. She would drill you to death."

Mrs. Gildow was born June 9, 1903, on Fir Island, Skagit County. One of four siblings, she grew up on the family farm.

Mrs. Gildow graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1921 and was accepted as a student by the Oberlin Conservatory, one of the country's most prestigious music schools.

After graduating from Oberlin in 1925, she married Dr. Gildow, a veterinarian, in 1926. He served on the faculties of the University of New Hampshire and the University of Idaho. He died in 1979.

"Grandma was never one to boast, but she had a number of talents. She was a very giving person," said Chris Gildow.

She kept the generations of her family close, and holidays often meant gathering at her home or in some other way being together, Gildow said.

There will be no funeral service. Gildow said there will be a private family memorial when his father and mother return from a trip to Switzerland.

Survivors include Mrs. Gildow's three children: Elton Gildow of Seattle and Camano Island, Genevieve Ashford, who is working for the Peace Corps in Botswana, Africa, and Elizabeth Horton of Stockton, Calif.; Noftsinger and another sister, Genevieve Webber of Bellevue; a brother, Alfred Polson of Mount Vernon, and 10 grandchildren.