Alma E. Glanzer, age 96, of Huron, died Saturday, March 21, 2015, at the SunQuest Health Care Center. Her funeral service was at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, March 25th at the United Methodist Church at Iroquois, with Rev. Kris Larson, officiating. Burial was in the Bethel Church Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the Byron Bible Camp.
Alma Ella Glanzer was born to Matt P. and Kathryn (Gross) Glanzer, March 30, 1918, at their rural Huron farm on the southeast edge of Lake Byron. The eldest of four sisters and two brothers, she grew up on a farm three miles southwest of Carpenter. Alma received her education at the Wheeler School, her first year of high school at Kimball, South Dakota, and graduated from Yale High School in 1936. To prepare for a teaching profession, Alma attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen one year and later attended evening classes and summer school at Huron College.
Alma was united in marriage to Ernest Glanzer on March 11, 1939, at Huron. This union was blessed with three sons, Morris, Phil and Keith, and one daughter, Brenda. Their oldest son, Morris, died in October 1948, at the age of 7 during a polio epidemic.
After living in Huron their first few years of marriage, they moved to a farm southwest of Willow Lake in 1944. In 1946, they moved to the farm seven miles southeast of Carpenter, where they lived until retiring to their home in Iroquois in 1973.
Alma and Ernie were blessed with 62 years of marriage. They enjoyed special open house celebrations in observation of their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries. Vacation trips were enjoyed to various areas of the United States and Canada, with family, relatives and friends.
In her early teens, Alma trusted Christ as her Lord and Savior, during evangelistic meetings at the Bethel Church. She was later baptized as a witness to her faith by Rev. John M. Tschetter and became a life long member of Bethel Church.
Alma expanded her circle of dear friends and opportunities for service after retiring to Iroquois where she and Ernie attended the United Methodist Church.
Her commitment to her church and her Lord were evident by the priority of church attendance for their family and her tireless involvement in the ministry of Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, church library, church choir, hospitality, women's organizations and an appreciation and encouragement of her pastors and their families.
Alma's elementary teaching spanned 68 years with intervals for raising her family. She began teaching at the Wheeler School after her year at NorthernState and concluded her career by serving as a substitute teacher and volunteer aid in the Iroquois District. She served varying tenures at the area rural schools of Davenhill, Meyer and Milford, and in the towns of Bancroft and De Smet.
Mother will long be remembered for her passion for teaching, ability to spell, willing devotion to her church and its ministries, and as a devoted mother and wife. She deeply appreciated the daily visits of her sister, Rozella, and the visits of friends and other relatives and the compassionate care of the staff at SunQuest Health Care Center.
Left to cherish her memory are her sons and their families, Phil and Judy Glanzer of Sioux Falls, and Keith and Tanya Glanzer of Carpenter; her daughter, Brenda Glanzer of Greeley, Colorado; her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Jodi and Scott Seyfarth and their children, Madison and Sydney of Temecula, California; Darin and Julia Glanzer and their children, Jackson and Abby of Brandon; Chad and Joni Glanzer and their children, Rebecca, Ashley, Kyle and Christa of Mitchell; Sheri and Tim Gross and their children, Josh and Isaac of Marshall, Minnesota; her sister, Rozella Glanzer of Huron; brother-in-law, Dan Polly of Watertown; sister-in-law, Norma Glanzer of Iroquois; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives.
Alma was preceded in death by her husband, Ernie in 2001; her son, Morris; brothers, Elard and Wilson Glanzer; sisters, Jennie Schmidt and Wanda Polly; brother-in-law, Arnold Schmidt; sister-in-law, Katy Glanzer; and her parents.
Mother's testimony of hope and the basis for it are expressed in a familiar children's chorus and scripture memory verse which she taught to many boys and girls in Sunday School and Vacation Bible school.