Brenda Colleen Glassner

Brenda Glassner was a wonderful woman, a vibrant, caring and compassionate lady, who never gave up on her dreams. She faced many challenges in her life, yet overcame them with an unsinkable spirit and unending hope for better days. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend to so many, and a beautiful woman inside and out. She lived each of her days as a gift, a gift we were so lucky to have shared with her. Brenda's story began on a warm spring day in 1952, in the little town of Shelby, Michigan. Those were such tumultuous times in this country, with the Korean Conflict raging overseas, and the Cold War and the Red Scare heating tensions back home. Yet on May 14, 1952, Floyd and Joyce (Winchester) Siler found reason for hope, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named Brenda Colleen. Brenda's parents were from Muskegon, Michigan, yet traveled to Shelby to have their baby in the company of her maternal grandparents and in the hometown of their doctor. After she was born, the new family returned to Muskegon, where her dad worked at a paper mill and her mother was a homemaker. She was joined by her older brother George in the family's downtown Muskegon home, later relocating to the Lakeside neighborhood, on Clifford Street just up the hill from the mill. Sadly, Brenda's father died unexpectedly in 1957, leaving her mother to care for two small children alone. Joyce took a third-shift job at the paper mill to make ends meet, yet still provided a loving, nurturing home for her kids. Indeed, their home was a hotbed of activity for the neighborhood children. Brenda's first friend, Donna Harker, just knocked on their door one day, looking for a playmate, which she found in Brenda and Brenda's aunt, Chris, who was just four years her senior. The girls found their share of mischief growing up, and Brenda and Donna loved to swipe the golf balls off the greens at the nearby golf course, before the golfers arrived to putt them! That ended when Brenda accidentally threw a golf ball threw their picture window one day! Brenda attended Bunker School, where she was a cheerleader and a Majorette. She developed her lifelong love for animals at a young age, and often brought home stray cats she said "followed" her from the bus stop. Her Auntie Chris called her Ellie Mae Clampett, after the Beverly Hillbillies character. Brenda also developed a strong will and a free spirit at a young age, and when she was just 16, she eloped to Mexico with a neighborhood boy named Gary Workman. She soon became pregnant, and the young couple lived in a little apartment in Chicago for a time, until her mother convinced them to move back to Muskegon, where they lived in a little house down the street from Joyce. Their daughter Shawn was born in 1969, though her marriage ended shortly afterward. Being the pretty, vivacious young woman she was, she wasn't alone for long, and soon fell in love with a man named Dan Meyers, a friend of her brother's she met at the bowling alley. After a short romance, they were married, and her daughter Shannon was born in 1970. Dan adopted Shawn as his own, and after he joined the Air Force, the family moved around to the bases he was stationed, mostly in North Dakota. There Brenda worked part-time in a local store, and joined the church choir, always enjoying being active. Her marriage to Dan eventually ended, and Brenda and the girls moved back to Muskegon, living in Ruddiman Terrace. Brenda took criminal justice classes at Muskegon Community College, while working security at Meijer's. Brenda soon had another romance leading to marriage, and promptly moved to Texas with her new husband and daughter Shannon, while Shawn went to live with her father. Brenda and Shannon became very close in that time, enjoying their "farm in the city," complete with chickens, ducks, rabbits and household pets running around. Brenda had a beloved cat named Sherlock for nearly 20 years, throughout her many moves. She worked as an assistant manager at Payless Shoes in Texas, until her marriage ended three years later, and she and her daughter moved home to Muskegon. Brenda took a job at the Lakeshore Tavern, in addition to some other short-term jobs to make ends meet. She loved the tavern, though, and played on many pool league teams there. She was always so social, so vibrant, pretty and fun-loving. She was also very feisty, and her mother said she could "drip honey or spit nails!" Soon she found her true "honey," however, when George introduced her to a man named Mark Glassner. The two connected right away, and Brenda had truly found her soulmate, as well as her "White Knight." After a six-month courtship, they were married in Las Vegas. Brenda quit working, and moved to Mark's house in Montague, where she started collecting her "critters." The beautiful house had a creek and a pond on the property, where deer and all sorts of animals wandered through the yard - and sometimes in the house! Once they had a raccoon and its babies in their kitchen, which Brenda had to take pictures of before Mark could shoo them outside! Brenda also enjoyed her garden, complete with vegetables, beans and tomatoes, and became famous for her delicious zucchini bread. Those were the greatest days of Brenda's life, which she shared with her beloved Mark. Family was always most important to Brenda, and when her grandchildren arrived, she was so thrilled. They visited often and spent the night, and did so much together, from going to the movies, to canoeing and camping. She was a big part of family's life, and her son-in-law Stuart always said he could see Brenda passed her free spirit to her daughters! Sadly, shortly after Brenda married Mark she was diagnosed with scleroderma, which hardens the tissues of the body, and it settled in her lungs. She bravely battled the disease for years, making regular trips to the University of Michigan Hospital, and tried many different treatments. The disease was painful, yet Brenda never complained, saving her energy to bravely fight it. Eventually she required an oxygen tank, which didn't hamper her independence, either. Just as she always had, Brenda was determined to live every day to the fullest. In fact, during the last days of her life, she had a piece of cake with sprinkles, saying she was going to celebrate every day like it was her birthday. Sadly, she died peacefully at the Poppen Hospice House on March 1, 2007, surrounded by her loving family. Brenda was a wonderful woman, as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, a caring, fun-loving lady who brightened the lives of all those around her. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend, and truly a free spirit, who lived her life like every day was her birthday, just like she made us feel. She will be greatly missed. Surviving are her husband, Mark Glassner; 2 daughters, Shawn (Michael) Turgeon of Muskegon, Shannon (Stuart) Edwards of Grant; 4 grandchildren, Daniel Turgeon, Samantha Meyers, Brenton Reed, Andrew Reed; mother, Joyce Siler of Muskegon; brother, George (Donna) Siler of Muskegon. Services are scheduled for Tuesday, March 6, 2007, 11:00 AM at Clock Chapel with Pastor Dan Fullmer officiating. Interment at Lakeside Cemetery. Visitation is Monday, 2-4 & 6-8 PM at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. Memorials may be made to the Poppen Hospice House. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to share a memory or photo of Brenda, or sign the online guestbook.