GLENNA LEA DICKSON

Glenna Lea passed away peacefully on December 11th, 2024, with Jennifer by her side. She was our mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, sister, and friend to so many.

She will be lovingly remembered and deeply missed by her daughter Jennifer (Dave); grandchildren, Brody and Katelyn, who she loved more than anything; her sister Marian (Nelson) Boles; brother John (Beatrice) Davidson; nephew John (Christina); niece Simone (Stefan); great niece, Alexis; great nephews, Finn and Allan; as well as numerous other family members and friends. She is predeceased by her father, Allan Davidson; and mother Mary Davidson.

She spent her entire life caring for her family and everyone she met, family, friends, staff, and clients. Everyone gravitated towards her. She was generous with her time and heart. The circle of friends she accumulated over her life is too big to mention and she will be sadly missed by so many.

Glenna was born, August 8th, 1951, in Regina. She soon moved to Winnipeg and grew up a Norwood Girl! After losing her dad at an early age she grew up with her mom, older sister, Marian, and “twin” brother John. Glenna and John were special twins because they were so close in age. From day one they were a team. They often got into trouble together when they were younger and could team up on Marian who made sure they knew she was in charge. As a child she spent a lot of time at Aunt Shirley’s farm in Russell, MB. The farm was her second home where she had memories of working the garden, helping Aunty Shirley in the kitchen and the chickens, oh she hated those chickens! In her teen years she spent her Saturday nights at Champlain Community Club running canteen, dancing, and hanging out with band members of the Devrons, Burton Cummings, the Guess Who, BTO and so many other groups. Some nights they all ended up back at the Hillcrest House. The Red Top was the neighbourhood meeting place. If she wasn’t at Champlain she was usually at the Red Top.

Even at a young age Glenna was always there to help people. Her first job at age 14 was as Candy Striper at St. Boniface Hospital. By the time she was 20 she owned her own successful hairdressing salon, “Westmount Parlor of Beauty”. It quickly became the place to be in Windsor Park. The “shop” days were legendary. Every client became a friend and often family. The Christmas parties at the shop included all her clients and staff. Everyone was always welcome. The people she met during this time stayed with her forever. Glenna excelled as a hairdresser and business owner. She also loved attending the Hairdressing Conventions held across Canada, competing and modelling in them and spending time with other professionals. She always joked that she could style anyone’s hair beautifully except her own. It didn’t matter what she did her hair always ended up flat and straight as an arrow.

Once Jennifer was born, she sold her shop to a fellow hairdresser and close friend so she would have more time at home. She continued to work there fulltime until 1984 when she was in a hit and run car accident that broke her neck. She ended up breaking her C4 disc and crushing her C5 disc. The chronic pain stayed with her for the rest of her life. But it never stopped her.

Glenna continued to do hair part time and moved onto the Hudson’s Bay Company. She quickly became the manager of the China and Housewares department at the St. Vital store, where she fell in love with all thing's China or crystal. In 1990 she began working for Mark's Work Wearhouse. Her St. Vital store was the place to work in the 1990’s. She was a great boss and took care of all her employees like they were family. Another place where the staff parties were legendary. Her favourite time was working the Mark’s Outpost for many years at the Calgary Stampede. Her career at Mark’s took her to Penticton, Edmonton and eventually head office in Calgary. When it was time for a fresh start Glenna came back to Winnipeg to work as the general manager for David L. Jones floral wholesaler. Unfortunately, due to the company going out of business she soon had to take a new position management position with Staples in Calgary. When she became a grandma, she made the move back to Winnipeg to be closer to family and continued working for Staples as a store manager. Her final position was with Bell MTS in customer service. Officially retiring in 2021. Glenna also volunteered for many years with the Children’s hospital foundation and the Teddy Bear’s Picnic.

In her younger years Glenna could only be described as epic! It was nothing for her to hop on a triumph motorcycle, kick start it and drive away. Her first car was a baby blue Triumph Spitfire. She loved that car. There were many miles put on driving around St. Vital, to Grand Beach, Grand Forks, or wherever the party was. She did quickly find out that it was not meant for Winnipeg winters, but she would never admit it. She could come home at sun rise and quickly change for a full day of work. Never missing a beat.

When Jennifer was born Glenna focused on being a great mom, even iconic. She did so much more than she ever had too. She volunteered at nursery school, this included packing picnic lunches for everyone on fieldtrip day complete with fancy sandwiches. Glenna was always artistic and creative. Her ceramic pieces are now family treasures. She was the mom that came to school on Halloween to help get Jennifer’s costume on. And costumes could never be store bought. She made them from scratch every year. Soon she was making costumes for every kid on the street. At Christmas she had all the kids over to bake cookies. It was a full day of baking and a week of cleaning up sprinkles after.

There were many road trips with her sister, Marian, Jennifer, and nephew John. Jennifer and John would fight like brother and sister in the back seat while Glenna drove, and Marian planned the trip. She loved to tell the story of the road trip to visit her mom in Texas where Marian made her stop in Dallas for the night because they needed to get a hotel so she could watch the T.V. show Dallas on T.V. Often rolling her eyes as she told the story. She continued the tradition of going to Aunty Shirley’s with Jennifer and John as often as possible. This way Jennifer and John got a chance to make the same memories as she and her siblings did many years ago.

Summers were family focused at Bigstone Lodge on Lake of the Woods. Once again, she gathered friends, hosted cocktail parties on their deck, and enjoyed group boat rides to various islands so kids could swim, and parents could enjoy a refreshment. She organized the first Canada Day celebrations and BBQ which continue to this day. As the years went on, she was not able to get to the lake as much as she wanted to but made sure Jennifer always had a place there.

When Jennifer married Dave, Glenna welcomed him without hesitation. He was a son to her. She looked forward to their talks and encouraged his love of thrifty treasures and entrepreneurial ideas. Mostly just to drive Jennifer crazy.

Aunty Glenna was a second mom to John, whether he felt he needed one or not (it was). He has so many memories of fun times with his second family. She also loved being Taunte Glenna to Simone, from the early days when her brother John brought Simone over to watch fishing shows on Sunday mornings to last few years seeing her become a Maman.

Glenna’s greatest joy was becoming a grandma or G.G. She would have done anything for Brody and Katelyn. Brody could do no wrong in her eyes. He stole a piece of her heart from the first time she saw him. Katelyn and G.G. had a special connection. She could get Katelyn to do about anything. From cleaning her room with her, to making fun of her brother, G.G. was always up for the task. Her perfect night with the family included a great meal cooked by Dave, a sarcastic chat with Katelyn and a super hug from Brody. She was always proud of everything the kids did and was their biggest fan.

Glenna lived with chronic pain for many years. She had regular appointments at Pan Am to help control the pain from her car accident. In March 2023, Glenna was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that had moved to her stomach. She underwent surgery and started immunotherapy. In September 2024, she was told she was in remission. Soon after she was hospitalized with pneumonia and complications from COPD. After 3 weeks she was doing well and sent home only to return to the hospital a few weeks later with low oxygen levels. She spent the next 2 months at Victoria hospital fighting to get better before it became obvious that she would not be able to go home.

Glenna’s family would like to thank Victoria Hospital’s 5th Floor north unit and Buhler Cancer Care Centre for their care and compassion.

A celebration of Glenna’s life will be held from 1:00pm – 4:00pm on Saturday, December 28th at the Norwood Hotel, located at 112 Marion St, Winnipeg. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Glenna’s name to Victoria Hospital Foundation by calling (204) 477-3513 or clicking here. 

Glenna’s family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by sharing photos, memories, and stories, using the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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