Richard "Dick" W. Glenn

Richard William Glenn passed away at Kavanagh Hospice House on 20 Jul 2024. He was the son of Clifford William Glenn and Ruth Fern (Poffenberger) Glenn, born at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines where his mother had earned her RN diploma.

The family settled in West Des Moines where he was a student from Kindergarten through graduation in 1957 from Valley High School. He kept in touch with many of his classmates and former teammates, on a variety of sports especially including football and golf. His mother had been a fondly remembered school nurse for West Des Moines for about 25 years before her retirement in 1971.

After high school he entered the U.S. Army, serving primarily in Germany. After his Honorable Discharge in 1963 he served in the Iowa National Guard for an additional period of time. By 1976 he was working as a civilian employee for the Department of Defense, and eventually the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through several states and a period overseas in Germany. In 1994 he was employed by the Bechtel National division of Bechtel, and worked at cleanup at the Manhattan Project sites in Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Los Alamos, New Mexico; as well as a project in Anniston, Alabama. 

After retirement, the pull of coming back home to Iowa found Richard and Sharon building a home in Waukee. Richard always embodied the “iowa nice” ethic and will be remembered for his humor and caring by the many people whose lives he touched over the years. His last seven years were spent at the Woodlands Creek Retirement community in Clive.

Preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Ruth, his sister Gretchen (Glenn) Jensen, first wife Lucia M. (Eyer) Glenn, and nephew Bruce Jay St. Pierre.

Survived by his wife Sharon Faith (Medlar) Pyka Glenn, sons Michael W. Glenn and Patrick J. Glenn, step-son Kirby J. Pyka, niece Gail (Harris) Fisher, nephew Eric Randall Thompson, sister-in-law Marilyn (Randy) Zonnefeld, grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.

At his request, no services are planned. Cremation has been chosen, and his ashes will be placed at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.