JOHN W. GLOVER

1925 - 2016

John William Glover passed away peacefully May 17, 2016, at the age of 91, to be with God and his beloved wife. He was born March 27, 1925, in Compton, Calif., to Amos F. Glover and Nellie Grace (Warner) Glover. John grew up in a one- bedroom home in Compton with his parents, grandmother and four siblings. His father was a Methodist minister, carpenter, and real estate agent and was elected to the California Legislature in 1935 (where he introduced the first Worker's Compensation bill in California). Their small home was to be a temporary residence, but the Depression hit when John was 3, so John and his extended family lived in that house for 20 years. While living in Compton he met Barbara Katzenberger - the love of his life. They married in 1949 and moved to Downey, Calif. Their three children were born there. In 1962 the family moved to Leawood, Kan. The last few years John and Barbara lived at the Santa Marta Retirement Community in Olathe, Kan. After graduating from Compton Union High School, John enrolled in Compton Junior College and took an aircraft drawing course. He attempted to enlist in the armed services but a perforated eardrum disqualified him. Instead, John worked for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a draftsman, and in 1943, he joined the Merchant Marine Service and served his country until 1946 when he was honorably discharged as a 2nd Engineer, Lieutenant JG. John wanted to return to school but without the G.I. Bill, he needed to work. The demands of his job increased as did the traveling required for it, and he was forced to drop out of school. It was one of his greatest regrets. John worked for Interstate Brands Corporation (IBC) from 1946 until he retired in 1989. Despite his inability to finish college, he worked hard to increase his knowledge by taking classes at U.S.C and the UCLA Executive Program. He started as a mechanic at the IBC's Weber L.A. Plant (#23) in July 1946. In 1962 he was promoted to Director of Engineering, at IBC's General Office in Kansas City, so the Glover family made the move from California to the Midwest. John was later promoted to Vice-President in 1968. During his time at IBC, he supervised the building of new cake plants in Emporia, Kan., and Columbus, Ga., as well as new bread plants in Glendale, Calif., Billings, Mont., Boise, Idaho, and others. He developed programs to modernize and reduce costs in all IBC's plants. After his retirement, he started consulting on bakery plant operations and he planned and coordinated 5 engineering conferences at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kan. John believed in giving back. He was very involved in the Episcopal Church. He served on the board of directors and as treasurer of the Episcopal Social Services of KCMO; was on the vestry, served as building chairman, finance committee and was a head usher for All Saints Episcopal Church. When he retired, he put his pruning expertise and organizational skills to good use while serving on the Board of Directors of Leawood Homes Association - he was in charge of maintaining the trees! Professionally, he belonged to the American Society of Bakery Engineers. John volunteered as Assistant Committee Chairman and Camping Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America. He previously belonged to the Masons, Grand Lodge, Anchor Lodge (#273) in California and received his 50 year certificate in 1998. John was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He and Barbara loved spending time with family and taking the grandchildren on special trips. John loved swimming, fishing, boating, horseback riding and gardening. He was generous, hard-working, dedicated, humorous, selfless, and service-oriented and truly made the world a better place! Well done, John! He was loved by so many; it's hard to imagine life without him. John was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Glover; parents, Amos F. Glover and Nellie Grace Warner Glover; sisters, Eleanor Strother and Leila Glover Sciutto; and brother, Franklin Glover. He is survived by his sister, Myrtle Buchanan (Ross); daughter, Laura Glover Kaiser (Jack), sons, Stephen Glover and Dave Glover (Terry); grandchildren, Chris Kaiser (Sarah), Justin Glover (Laura Slieker), Brian Kaiser (Tabitha), Tonya Renner (Blake) and Kelci Glover; and great-grandchildren, Preston Means, Beckett Renner, Everett Glover and John (Jack) Kaiser. A celebration of John's life will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at St. Thomas The Apostle Episcopal Church, 12251 Antioch Road, Overland Park, KS 66213. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be made in memory of John to St. Thomas The Apostle Episcopal Church or KU Alzheimer's Disease Center, make checks payable to "KU Endowment - Alzheimer's Disease Center," and mail to KU Endowment, c/o Ted Kimble, Mail Stop 3012, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS 66103- 9975. Condolences may be left at mcgilleystatelinechapel.com Arr.: McGilley State Line Chapel, 12301 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 942-6180. M