Olde Mistick Goose Died Thursday

The beloved goose named Gloria that lived at the Olde Mistick Village passed away on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013.

The Gray Goose Cookery announced Gloria’s death on their Facebook page. Gloria was spending the winter at the Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary when she died.

“Gloria was truly an institution here at the Cookery, and at the Village and she will be sorely missed,” The Gray Goose Cookery wrote. A memorial garden for Gloria will be created in the Rose Garden behind the Gray Goose Cookery.”

According to local author Lisa Saunders, Gloria first arrived at the Olde Mistick Village sometime in the 1980s, when Gloria’s owner decided she couldn’t care for the goose. The owner and staff at the Gray Goose Cookery quickly became attached to the goose and as Gloria got older they even feed her medicine for her ailing leg by hand. And just as the Gray Goose Cookery fell in love with Gloria so did visitors to the Olde Mistick Village.

“Generations of families have enjoyed feeding her, and listening to her “talk” to them! She could get a little cranky at times, and share her head “no” when she didn’t want to eat — but that rarely happened,” The Gray Goose Cookery wrote. “She had absolutely NO patience for any duck that had the temerity to try and steal some of her food.”

It wasn’t until late in Gloria’s life, that according to Saunders, the Olde Mistick Village realized she wasn’t a girl but a boy. A couple of years ago, the Olde Mistick Village adopted a female goose named Lu Lu to keep Gloria company. Lu Lu was also spending the winter at the Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary and will be returning to the village on April 1 and may be coming back with another goose.

But even with Lu Lu’s return scheduled in just a couple of months, the Olde Mistick Village won’t be the same without Gloria. As news of Gloria’s death spread people remembered her on the Stonington-Mystic Patch Facebook page recalling moments when they took their children to see Gloria and saying how they were to have know her.

“What a treat though to have known her and see her and all the other fowl on a regular basis!” Robin Mickelson Piela wrote.

Share your own memories of Gloria in the comments.