Gladys Adedoja Olaitan

Gladys Adedoja Olaitan (nee Adeyinka), age 83, passed away peacefully on Monday, September 23, 2024.

Gladys was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria on December 28, 1940. She was educated and raised in Ibadan, where she eventually met her future husband. Gladys picked up culinary skills from her mother and became a well-known caterer herself, including running the catering operations for government staffers at the Oyo State Secretariat. A devout Christian, Gladys strove to show her love for Christ’s teachings through leading by example with palpable humility. She also demonstrated an uncommon affinity for caring for the less privileged. 

Gladys is survived by her beloved husband of 62 years, Emmanuel Olaitan; children, Olanike (Aderemi) Oduba, Yetunde (Mackson) Nguma, Olufunmilayo (Obafemi) Arobadi, and Eyiyemi (Olusegun) Adelerin; grandchildren, Eniola, Ebun, Semi, Tayo, Anjola, Tinu, Nkechi, Nifemi, Feranmi, Bisola, Gabby, Timilehin and Nonye; siblings, Ayoade, Fadeke and Yomi, along with numerous loving nieces and nephews, including Folake, Dapo and Jeda. 

She is preceded in death by her parents, Adebowale and Ibironke Adeyinka; her siblings, Modupe, Biyi, Doyin, and Dele; her children, Taiwo Ogunmadewa, and Olutola Falode.

A visitation for Gladys will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024, from 4pm until 8pm at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 941 S. Old Rand Rd., Lake Zurich, IL 60047. A second visitation will be held the following morning at the funeral home from 11am until the time of service at 12noon. Burial to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery, 2501 E Euclid Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL 60004.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Gladys’s name may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital