Former Buffalo Grove trustee Glover remembered for commitment to family, community

Former Buffalo Grove Trustee DeAnn Glover is being remembered for her legacy of community service and devotion to family.

Glover died Monday, March 29, at her home in Gardner, Kansas. She was 77.

"She was a great mother," said her son Mark, who lives in nearby Olathe, Kansas. "She was very supportive of both my sister (Kimberley Scott) and I as we grew up and even into our adulthood lives. Family was probably the most important thing in her life."

Mark's wife, Christine, said Glover was a loving grandmother to their children, Michael and McKenzie, and Kimberley's son, Matthew Scott, sending them personalized Christmas ornaments.

"She always wanted to attend family weddings, births of babies. She always remembered everybody's birthdays," she said.

Glover served on the village board from 1995 until 2011.

"She loved Buffalo Grove," longtime Village Clerk Janet Sirabian said.

In fact, Glover bought her home in Kansas in the mid 2000s with the intention of moving then, but stayed in Buffalo Grove because she didn't want to miss the village's 50th anniversary celebration in 2008. She ended up serving three more years after that on the village board.

Glover especially was devoted to the Buffalo Grove Days festival. Paulette Greenberg, who chairs the committee that organizes the annual late-summer fest, said Glover would do anything she could to assist.

"If you needed some help, she would figure out how to help you, or direct you to a way to get the help," Greenberg said.

Glover's close associate on the committee, Maureen Welborn, said they jokingly referred to themselves as "the mean mamas" when they patrolled the festival area. After hours and until the middle of the night, Welborn remembered, she and Glover would drive golf carts around the festival grounds picking up trash.

Glover's dedication to the fest was recognized in 2011, when she was chosen as the grand marshal of the Buffalo Grove Days Parade.

Glover, who was born in Nebraska, worked as a real estate broker manager with Re/Max Experts. Karen Danenberg, a Realtor whom Glover took under her wing, said she "laid down the law" about the importance of customer service to the agents she managed in the Buffalo Grove office.

Glover ran for village trustee in 1995 with the encouragement of the late Trustee Bill Reid. She would eventually receive the Bill Reid Community Service Award, named in his honor.

"She did very well dealing with the public. That's what made her such a popular trustee, I think," said Reid's widow, Mary Jo, a frequent bridge and travel companion.

Former trustee Brian Rubin said Glover could disagree with you, but remain friendly. "And that's missing in government right now, where parties can respectfully disagree and not take it personally," he added.

A cancer survivor, Glover supported the village's Pink Heals campaign, for which the village painted its fire trucks pink. She also was as an active member of Hope Lutheran Church and the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove.

Her friend John Green said she exemplified Rotary's motto of "Service above Self." Through Rotary, she indulged her interest in travel, visiting locales as far away as South Africa and Antarctica.

Her biggest thrill, Green said, was when a plane in which they were flying traveled over Mount Everest.

"DeAnn was so excited to see Mount Everest, She was still shaking when we landed at Kathmandu with the pure excitement of having seen it," he said.

Funeral services will be held at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Olathe, Kansas at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 8, with visitation following from 5 to 7 p.m. A burial ceremony will be held in Kearney, Nebraska, on Saturday, April 10. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in DeAnn's name to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.