At the age of 76, Glenda D. Larsen passed away peacefully, in the presence of her family on Monday, September 25, 2017, at her home in Montgomery, MN.
Glenda’s life will be honored with a Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, October 14 at 11 am, with a time of gathering starting at 9:30 am, at Ballard-Sunder Funeral and Cremation 104 West First Street, Jordan, MN. Pastor Jason Pollington will preside. Urn bearers will be all her grandchildren.
In Fort Smith, Arkansas, Glenda Dee was born to proud parents, Arthur and Ilene (Kelly) Borchert, on June 16, 1941. She was the oldest of six children, growing up first in Arkansas and then later moving to LeSueur, MN. As a young girl, Glenda was extremely involved in the Girl Scouts. She relished all the adventures traveling the United States and Canada attending gatherings and earning her badges for the Girl Scouts. In 1954, her father, Arthur and younger brother, Dean were both killed in separate accidents. This forever changed Glenda’s life. Her family moved to Arkansas and then to Prior Lake, MN, where Glenda attended school.
While attending high school, Glenda met the love of her life, Robert John Larsen. They took their high school sweetheart love and on an extremely cold day of December 6, 1958, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Prior Lake, MN, Glenda and Bob declared their love to each other. They soon welcomed three precious children, Cherie, Mike and Terri. As a family, they enjoyed countless hours camping, family walks and driving around the country side, while listening to polka music.
Glenda and Bob called the small town of Lydia, MN home for over 30 years, before moving to Big Lake and finally to Montgomery, MN,. These three homes provided precious times spent with her family. As Glenda’s family grew to include 9 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, Sunday afternoons became the best day of the week. She looked forward to her family returning home to watch football, BBQ and enjoying each other’s company. Glenda and Bob loved taking their children and grandchildren exploring the outdoors camping. As a couple, they were also blessed to have wintered in Texas the last four years. Returning home in spring meant sharing their stories and photos with the family.
Family was most important to Glenda. She enjoyed being a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Glenda especially enjoyed her grandchildren and she was the first one to arrive to mark the joyous occasion of their birth. Her family was the beneficiaries of Glenda’s amazing cooking, her beautiful homemade quilts and even some of her paintings. But Glenda’s family knew never to bother her when she was watching Animal Kingdom or the soap opera, the Young and the Restless. Glenda also had a special relationship with her dog, Megan. She has brought so much joy and companionship to Glenda’s life, as well as Bob’s.
Glenda had this quiet personality, yet she enjoyed everyone’s conversation and loved to hear about their lives. Glenda’s loving and caring qualities will be greatly missed the most.
The legacy of Glenda will continue on in the hearts of her beloved husband of 58 years, Bob; children, Cherie (Michael) Bullock, Mike Larsen, Terri (Gregg) Pekarna; grandchildren, Ryan Fox, Lindsey (Shawn) Suter, Timothy Fox, Jake Larsen, Jani (Donald) Bush, Christina (Nathan) Olson, Katherine (Stephen) Damlo, Jayme (Eric) Olsen, Kelsey (Tyler) Dabu; 15 great-grandchildren; siblings, Dennis (Mona) Borchert, Julie (Perry) Petrick: sister-in-law, Donnell Hauck; many dear relatives and devoted friends.
There to welcome Glenda home in heaven are her parents; siblings, Dean Borchert, Timothy Hauck and LaDanna Messerli.
Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home and Cremation, Jordan Chapel, proudly served and cared for the Larsen family. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com
