Friends and family gathered Saturday morning to mourn the loss of Gladys Anthony, who was fatally mauled by dogs last month.
Anthony’s niece V’Rene Green choked up while recalling how she grew up under the guidance of Anthony, whom she described as being like a second mother to her. Anthony helped Green get her first car and first banking account. They would often get their hair done together.
“I don’t even know how to accept this,” Green said. “You never saw her upset or down. She was always happy, smiling.”
On Saturday, music and prayer filled Union Tabernacle M.B. Church in the Central West End as loved ones remembered Anthony, who worked as a longtime janitor in the Ritenour School District alongside her husband, James. Together they have a daughter, Keshia Anthony.
Gladys Anthony
Anthony, who was Deaf, was a known figure in the Deaf community, according to the service program. Former Missouri School of the Deaf classmates said they remembered Anthony for her contagious smile, calling her “awesome” and “impressive.” Many attendees wore blue ribbons adorned with her photo.
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A tribute on the program described Anthony as always going the extra mile and being “the run-to person in the family — if she had it, you had it, too.”
Anthony, 62, was attacked by three dogs on the night of Jan. 15, as she was trying to rescue her own dog in the backyard of her Walnut Park West home. She died while undergoing emergency surgery. James Anthony, 73, was hospitalized after the dogs bit his arm and the back of his legs.
The three dogs were euthanized. They belonged to a neighbor, Keith Mason, who told the Post-Dispatch they escaped from his home while he was away. Police arrested Mason last week on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, but Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore’s office has declined to charge, citing lack of evidence. He is asking the public for in gathering more information.
Longtime family friend Carrie Sanders said, “To lose her over this is not right.”
“We don’t understand,” Sanders said. “I get it, you can’t control an animal, it’s not human. But you have a social responsibility.”
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