Glenda Vursell Sweatt was born on May 18, 1942 in Salem IL. and passed away peacefully on January 31, 2025. Her mother was Mary Cantrell Vursell and her father was Lucian Vursell. Her Mom was a great cook and seamstress and her dad raised pigs, worked for the railroad and was a fine bluegrass fiddler and banjo player. While growing up, Glenda played the piano at a small country church and during high school she also learned the saxophone. Beyond that, she read voraciously, and acquired many friends.
Glenda attended Eastern Illinois Teacher’s college and became a grammar school teacher, in a Southern Illinois country school. She eventually wanted more and enrolled at the University of Illinois where she earned a degree in library science. She married Wayne Johnson and followed him to Livermore California. Eventually Wayne went off to seek his fortune and Glenda got a job in the Livermore Lab Spook group as a technical librarian.
Glenda collected numerous friends, one of whom introduced her to Bill Sweatt and his dogs. Apparently, she fell in love with the whole pack, and followed them to Albuquerque, where Glenda and Bill married on GroundHog Day in 1989. In Albuquerque, Glenda joined Sandia National Lab where she ran a small technical library … and again made faithful friends.
Glenda hosted parties several times each year, where she served New Mexican food and her famous Swedish cookies. She also made dozens of cookies for Bill’s California-based kids who she treated as her own. During the 90’s she and Bill learned folk dancing, and particularly, Swedish turning dances. Over several years they danced their way across Sweden, France, England, Germany, Austria, and Turkey. During a cross-channel trip in 2013 with son Ewan and his family, Glenda’s dementia started to show. Everybody enjoyed the trip immensely, but that was the beginning of a decade of dementia. Her wicked sense of humor, love of life, and intellect departed slowly over time. She was kept at home until the end of December 2024 and then moved to a nursing home, which was sad but necessary.
At the end of January 2025, she succumbed to the flu. During her final days Bill talked to her about her kindness and generosity and retold many of her jokes. Her last day was peaceful and she died within an hour of Bill’s last visit.
A Memorial Wake was held for Glenda in Albuquerque, on March 29, 2025. It was a loving and fitting tribute to a real woman filled with laughter and tears- just what the family wanted.
A visitation will be held for Glenda at Crouse Funeral Home in Salem on Thursday, April 17th from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Online condolences and memories can be left at www.CrouseFH.com.