Iola Edith Gaskill

Iola Edith Hint was born on August 21, 1926, to George Wilford Hint and Edith Fogelsonger Zumstein at their home in the Town of Clarence, Erie County, New York. The Hint family moved to a farmhouse in Middleport, NY, in 1928, and Iola attended a one-room schoolhouse beginning at age 5, continuing up through the 8th grade. There was no kindergarten in those days. She completed the 1st and 2nd grades in her first year, as the only one in that age group, while sitting on her teacher’s lap. She was driven by car to attend Middleport High School, where she graduated fifth highest in her class at 16 years old in June of 1943. She recalled the graduation speech she was required to give as the most frightening thing in her life! She never went on in pursuit of further education, as this was during World War II, and all she thought about was getting a job because there was no money on the farm at that time.

Iola was the third of four children. Living in a very strict environment growing up, Iola and her siblings (Fred, Eileen, and Billy) were not allowed to horse play or rough house and subsequently, she believed, never grew to be close. They always seemed to have a dog, though. One specifically, a black and white fox terrier, wouldn’t stand for any of them to fight and would step in to stop it.

The Hint children were required to help with what farmwork they could do as they grew. Some of Iola’s early chore memories involved taking weekly turns with her sister Eileen helping to cook, bake, and clean the house. In the summertime, Iola helped weed their large garden. During the fall, she helped can fruits and cut up butchered beef. Her mother made bread every Friday. “We were mostly unaffected by the Depression,” she said, “We had cows, and Dad grew corn that fed them. He grew wheat and had a man come with a thrasher. It was bound with twine then ran through a combine. Then Dad took it to town to sell. We had fresh milk and eggs and ran our electricity off a Delco Plant, a battery. We didn’t have refrigeration, but we didn’t need it. We had a cold cement area and fresh milk.”

Busy farm living allowed for moments of respite, however. Iola liked to “wander in the woods at home, visit the old springs, and walk after the cows for the night milking.” Their family never went to church or had any religious teachings, as such, except she said they would attend some spring and fall meetings of the Mennonite Church (her mother’s family’s affiliation) when she was young.

Iola learned to drive a tractor and a car while she was a teenager. They had a truck from the late 1920’s as well as a 1935 model car of some kind, with a standard 3 speed shift. “I did farmwork, driving horses, a tractor, all that growing up, but I wasn’t to be a farmer girl.” Her first job was as a quilt assembler at the Lockport New York Cotton Batting Factory. She had to walk a couple of miles to the bus stop then would take it into Lockport for work. She made $.50 an hour and worked 40 hours a week. She moved to Lockport once winter set in, as it became too hard to walk the distance needed to catch the bus. She found a boarding house for $10/week. In her spare time, she would go to movies and check out other night places in town. Also, she said that once she found the town’s library after high school, she started reading a lot, which developed into her favorite pastime.

Iola’s first marriage was to Robert William Rounds. They welcomed four children: Barbara Ann, Robert William, Jr., Marilyn Jean, and LuAnn. Her second marriage was to Ward Harrington Gaskill, Jr. Together they had a daughter, Cynthia Alice.

While living in Santa Susana, CA, she worked for the Simi Valley Unified School District in the Belwood Elementary cafeteria. The family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while there and were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple. When the family moved from California to New York in 1971, Iola worked for a short time in the cafeteria at the Odd Fellow Nursing Home in Lockport, then finished her food service career working for many years in the cafeteria at the Harrison Radiator Division of General Motors in Lockport, hitching a ten-mile ride home from work on a snowmobile one time when roads were shut down during the blizzard of ‘77. She became an expert at making donuts during her time at Harrison’s and would occasionally bring home leftovers from work such as corn fritters and “raisin rock” cookies.

In her spare time, she enjoyed canning, gardening, reading, sewing, crocheting, playing the organ, swimming, travelling, and country music. In her later years she enjoyed freshly cut flowers, reading, watching the Wheel of Fortune, and making homemade applesauce, frosted brownies, and her favorite—strawberry rhubarb pie.

After living in Kennewick, Washington for 36 years, Iola moved to Meridian, Idaho, to live with her daughter Cindy and her husband. She passed away at home on August 11, 2026, just ten days prior to her 100th birthday. She remained a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a loving and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, and friend—a steady source of love, warmth, and wit to everyone around her. Though our hearts are heavy with her absence, we are deeply grateful for all the memories we had with her and for the devotion she gave to our family.

Iola is survived by her five children: Barbara A. Arns, Robert W. Rounds, Jr., Marilyn J. (Timothy) Brock, LuAnn Hunter, and Cynthia A. (William) Montgomery; 12 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Ward H. Gaskill, Jr.; parents George W. Hint and Edith F. Zumstein; and siblings Frederic E. Hint, Eileen N. Hellert, and Billy G. Hint.

Her funeral will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5501 N Meridian Rd, Meridian, ID on Friday, August 21, 2026, with a viewing from 1-1:45pm., followed by a livestream broadcast of the service at 2pm MDT. Interment will be at Desert Lawn Cemetery in Kennewick, WA.

Condolences and flowers may be sent to Summers Funeral Home, 3629 E Ustick Rd., Meridian, ID