Gloria Mathilde Koschmann

Gloria Smith Koschmann went on to her eternal reward on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at Poppen Hospice House in Muskegon, Michigan. Having been brought up in the midst of the great depression she professed a philosophy of "Use it up, wear it out, make it last." She not only abided by this adage, but applied it to her life as well.

Born in Minneapolis, she spent her formative years in Milwaukee, where she met her lifetime partner, Martin L. Koschmann, while working as a sales clerk at Penny's. They had four children (Timothy, Peter, Judith, and Martin II). They moved about a bit, living in Menominee Falls and Madison, Wisconsin and Kansas City, MO, before ultimately settling in North Little Rock, AR. A dozen years after Martin passed she moved back up north to be closer to family. She was always fastidious about her diet, ate her vitamins, and exercised every day. Her stamina was truly astounding. Even at the advanced age of 98, she maintained her independence, doing her own housekeeping, cooking, and marketing.

She personified the notion of life-long learning. She was a voracious reader and had an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. She seemed driven to instruct. When her children were grown, she went back to school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she earned a degree in primary education. She went on to teach at a Montessori school in Little Rock and threw herself into researching, gathering and preparing materials for her classes. Even after retiring she continued her teaching, volunteering as a reading tutor at a local elementary school.

Gloria always strived to be of use. For some years she and Martin delivered Meals on Wheels to the "old people"; he was the driver and she the runner. They had to give it up, however, when Gloria was accidentally left behind at one of the drop-offs. Later in life, after moving into a retirement facility in Michigan, she became concerned about plastic waste in the environment. She was remembered there for roaming the halls collecting plastic containers to be recycled. Missing her yard in Arkansas and the daily work it required, she also volunteered to dig dandelions at a community garden in Muskegon.

Her strength and resilience were an inspiration to all. She weathered multiple tough moments over the course of her life-the divorce of her parents when she was young, the deaths of her grandson, Cory, her brother, Corwin, her husband, Martin, and more recently her youngest son, Mart II. She drew on her faith in these difficult times. Four years after moving she routinely live-streamed the Sunday service at Park Hill Christian Church in North Little Rock, joining in on the hymns and anthems from her apartment in Muskegon. ("It is well, it is well, with my soul.") She liked to say, "Worry is beneath my privilege," though she could get a bit uneasy when tornadoes were forecast or family members were traveling.

She is survived by two half-brothers (Ken and Dennis Smith), three children (Timothy, Peter and Judith Haller) six grandchildren (Nathaniel, Carl, Frederick, Elizabeth Haller, Deborah Haller Morrison, and Marty III), two grandchildren by marriage (Taylor Michelle Bailey and Tyler Simms), three nieces (Becky Vaughn, Cynthia Mason, and Cheri Boldt), and four great-grandchildren (Max, Lucy, Alden, and Soren). She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Clock Funeral Home - Muskegon