Gladys Stroud Broadway

Gladys Stroud Broadway, 92, of Fort Barnwell, passed away peacefully on September 3, 2026, leaving behind a family deeply rooted in the love, faith, and traditions she spent a lifetime nurturing.

Gladys was born in the Deep Run community, one of ten children born to Lapo and Lola Stroud. Her earliest years were shaped by the rhythms of farm life and the closeness of a large family. When she was still young, the Stroud family moved to Fort Barnwell, where her father farmed the land and operated a store in the community. Like most children raised on a farm in those days, Gladys learned early that everyone had a part to play, and she and her siblings did their share.

Fort Barnwell would become more than the place where Gladys grew up. It became home — the community where she would build a life, raise a family, serve her church, cultivate friendships, and leave a lasting legacy.

Gladys graduated from Farm Life High School in Vanceboro, and on July 5, 1958, she married a Fort Barnwell native, Charles D. Broadway, Sr. What followed was a remarkable 68 years of marriage and life together — nearly seven decades of shared joys and sorrows, ordinary days and memorable moments, and a love that endured through all the seasons of life.

For a number of years, Gladys worked at the Kinston Shirt Factory, but the work closest to her heart was always caring for the people she loved. Family was the center of her world, and those who knew her best considered Gladys the matriarch — the anchor — of their family. She had a way of providing the steady presence around which everyone else could gather.

And very often, they gathered around her table.

Gladys was a wonderful cook who knew her way around good old-fashioned Southern food. Among the favorites were her collards and cornbread, dishes made all the better because they came from her kitchen. For Gladys, cooking was another way of caring for people. A meal was never simply something to eat; it was an invitation to sit down, stay awhile, and be together.

There was also a lively side to Gladys, particularly when the North Carolina Tar Heels were playing basketball. She loved watching her Tar Heels, and those games could occasionally make things a little spirited around the Broadway house. She followed her team with the same enthusiasm she brought to so much of life.

Gladys also loved keeping in touch with people. She could spend plenty of time on the telephone talking with friends and family — something her family affectionately referred to as her “networking.” If something was happening around Fort Barnwell, there was a pretty good chance Gladys knew about it. Those conversations were about much more than keeping up with the news, though. They were how she stayed connected to the people she cared about.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Gladys was her outlook on life. She was an exceptionally positive person. Her family cannot remember hearing her complain. Whatever the day brought, she met it with gratitude, perseverance, and a faith that had been formed and strengthened over a lifetime.

That faith was an important part of who Gladys was. She was a devoted member of Fort Barnwell Baptist Church, where she faithfully served in many different roles throughout the years. Her church was not simply somewhere she attended; it was part of the fabric of her life and another extended family she dearly loved.

Gladys also treasured the friendship and fellowship she found among the ladies of the Fort Barnwell Quilters. Through their quilting ministry, Gladys and the other ladies used their hands, their time, and their talents to help support people in need. It combined so many things that mattered to her — friendship, community, service, and caring for others.

In the end, however, the greatest treasure of Gladys’s life was her family.
She leaves behind her beloved husband of 68 years, Charles D. Broadway, Sr.; her son, Charles D. “Chuck” Broadway, Jr. and wife, Tammy; granddaughter, Brooke Broadway Taylor and husband, Derek; grandson, Derrick Toler; great-grandchildren, Brooke’Lynn Broadway, Cole Banks, Harley Nobles, and Chase Toler; as well as a host of nieces and nephews who were part of the large family she loved so dearly.

Gladys lived 92 years, but the measure of her life is found in much more than the number of those years. It is found in a marriage that endured for nearly seven decades. It is found in generations of family who knew they were loved. It is found around a kitchen table where collards and cornbread were served with a generous helping of conversation. It is found in quilts lovingly stitched to help someone in need, in countless telephone conversations with friends and family, in Sundays spent among her church family, and even in those spirited afternoons cheering on the Tar Heels.
She was an anchor for her family — steady, faithful, positive, and dependable. And while an anchor may no longer be seen, what it held together remains.

The family will receive friends Sunday, September 6, 2026 from 2:00 until 3:00 p.m. at Fort Barnwell Baptist Church, followed by a funeral service beginning at 3:00 p.m., with Dr. Reece Blanchett and Rev. Jason Jones officiating. Music will be provided by her niece, Belinda Bartley. Gladys will be laid to rest in the Fort Barnwell Baptist Church Cemetery.

Flowers are appreciated, or memorial contributions may be made to Fort Barnwell Baptist Church.

For 92 years, Gladys Broadway loved her family, served her Lord, cared for her neighbors, and made Fort Barnwell a little warmer simply by being part of it. Hers was a life built not on grand gestures, but on the things that ultimately matter most — faithfulness, family, friendship, service, and love.

And those are the things that remain.

Bennett Funeral & Cremation Care is honored to serve the family and friends of Gladys Stroud Broadway.