Glenna Miller - Meals on Wheels Client

Glenna Miller

Glenna has blue eyes; one of them is fake and the other one sparkles.  She lives with her daughter in Mishawaka and has since 2010 after she broke her femur from a fall at home.  “My doctors told me that my bones don’t heal well” she told me.  But I’ve gotten ahead of her story.

Glenna was two when her family moved to a farm in Fulton County in 1931.  Later they would move to town, “we were only two blocks from school” she said. Her dad had a variety of jobs and Glenna went to four different schools before 11^th grade.  She grew up, married, had a daughter, and divorced the man that tried to strangle her.  Where do you go when it’s just you and a small child; back to family was Glenna’s choice. Glenna and her daughter stayed with mom and dad though Glenna worked. She took care of her dad before he passed away from cancer and she stayed to take care of her mom until she too passed in 1968.

During WWII Glenna worked at a radio factory and a sewing factory in Rochester. She continued to work in sewing factories in Fulton County until she retired. She also sewed at home making Barbie clothes for her daughter and the neighbor girls.  She learned to crochet and had a couple larger projects that were “underway”. As Glenna shared “I had a couple afghans that were 10 year projects” and she hoped to finish those projects when she retired.

Retirement didn’t bring a lot of down time. Friends encouraged her to volunteer a little, but a little didn’t last long. She volunteered at Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester, at the Historical Society, and at the Senior Center and soon found she was gone 4 full days a week.

In 2009 Glenna had a hip replacement then in 2010 she fell at home and broke her femur.  That’s when the doctors told her “your bones don’t heal well”.  She left rehab using a walker and went to live with her daughter. Between her daughter and other family members, they tried to give her 24/7 care.  It was too much. Glenna neither wanted nor felt she needed that much help.  Also her daughter works during the day and has medical problems of her own.  What did Glenna really want/need?  The transition from sitting/standing is difficult and she can’t stand long. Through conversations, they determined they needed someone to check on Glenna while her daughter was at work and for her to have a healthy lunch.  Meals on Wheels became their answer.

Glenna has been receiving MOW for 5 years and loves the service and the volunteers.  She especially likes when she can have a  short conversation with the volunteers. “It’s lonely during the day and I look forward to seeing the delivery person.  Sometimes they help me with something small; one person opened the garage door for me and another volunteer brings treats for the dog and cats”.  She especially remembers the conversation where a gentleman was telling her that he was going out to dinner with his wife for their anniversary at the German restaurant.  She talked about the deliveries made by the Logan clients; they are full of smiles and hugs.  Knowing someone will stop by for a short time is something she looks forward to.

Her projects? She completed her afghans, a bedspread, a couch cover, and now crochets prayer shawls and lap robes using patterns she looks up on the internet. Yes, at 89 years old she uses a tablet and the internet.

You’re wondering about her fake right eye.  Her retina detached a couple times, then when she fell and hit her face on the bathroom lavatory, the eye had to be removed; her left eye still sparkles though.