At 2:38pm on Thursday, September 21, 2017, my mother Leona Glover, passed away.
She was funeralized this past Saturday morning at Postell’s Mortuary in Orlando. She is being interred today alongside my father at the US Department of Veteran Affairs Florida National Cemetery, which is located at 6502 SW 102nd Avenue, Bushnell, FL 33513.
The following is her Obituary:
Leona was the first of four children born to Chester and Elizabeth Johnson in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the midst of the Great Depression on December 12th in 1933. As a young child, she would walk along the railroad tracks collecting coal to help heat their family home. These humble beginnings helped to create a strong young lady that would later grow into an an even stronger woman, wife, mother and grandmother.
Upon becoming an adult she moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Detroit where she soon met and married Artis Glover. Together they had three sons.
Leona initially worked as a domestic until at the age of 32 she entered a skills training program where she learned various office skills. Subsequently she began working as a general office worker with the City of Detroit. Her new skills and job sparked an interest in furthering her education, which led to an Associate Degree from Shaw University’s Detroit Campus, a BSW and ultimately a MSW (Masters of Social Work) in 1978 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Leona was actually only a few credits shy from earning a PhD, before she decided she had enough education.
As a Social Worker with the City of Detroit for over twenty years, she helped hundreds of families and individuals. While there, she also met many co-workers who became steadfast friends, which she fondly communicated with frequently until her last days.
As a sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, she was the foundation of her family, where she cooked many a meal, counseled troubled hearts and participated in many discussions as an active listener or doling out nuggets of wisdoms. Whatever assistance was needed, whether it be spiritual, emotional or financial, she gave and gave and gave to her family.
Spiritually, Leona came to Christ at an early age. Along with her husband, she was a founding member of Faith Temple CME Church in Detroit, Michigan, where she hosted meetings and services in her home on Russell Street. Upon retirement and moving to Orlando, Florida, she joined Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church where she regularly attended services and participated in the church’s senior group, “The Silver Angels” until her health prevented her from doing little more than being listed amongst the sick and shut-in.
Leona leaves her precious memories with her three sons, Chester A. Glover, Everett E. Glover and Darryl E. Glover; her daughters-in-law, Mae Glover and Laura Glover; her grandson Dr. Darryl E. Glover, Jr. along with his wife Adeola; her granddaughter, Michelle Leona Hall and her husband Andre; her two great grandchildren, Morgan Elizabeth Hall and Ariyo Elijah Glover; and a host of other relatives and dear friends.
