GLENNA VIRGINIA ENCINAS

Glenna Virginia Wilson was born in Sanger, CA, on September 16, 1943, and passed away peacefully on March 20, 2017, in Fresno, CA, with her loving husband by her side. Her parents were Lloyd and Lucille Wilson. She had an older sister, Charleen Wilson, and a younger brother, Earl Keith Wilson. Glenna was named after her uncle, Glenn Wilson, who was serving at the Pacific Front during World War II when she was born. In 1948, Glenna started kindergarten. That was also the year that her baby brother, Earl, was born. She loved school and excelled in all she did. In her junior high school years, she was very involved in school activities. She especially loved being head majorette and participating in all the games and parades. About this time, Glenna started horseback riding and was proud to be selected to ride in the Clovis Parade. She also became a very good accordion player, and in her later years, also played the organ quite well. In high school, she was involved in many activities and received many honors. She was always at the top of her class academically. In the 1950s, a highlight for Glenna and her family were the yearly two week vacations to Santa Cruz, CA. She loved the Merry-Go-Round, the Big Dipper and swimming in the Plunge. Glenna graduated from Sanger High School in 1961, and always remained a loyal Apache. Upon graduation, she enrolled at Fresno State College, majoring in Education. It was during this time that she lost her father and took on the responsibility of caring for her mother and baby brother. She worked at Rosco's Variety Store in Sanger to help make ends meet. During her college years, Glenna became interested in roller skating, took lessons and before long, was competing up and down the valley. Like everything she did, she gave it her all and became well known in skating circles. After graduating from Fresno State, Glenna's first teaching job was teaching summer school in Sanger. She was then hired by Fresno Unified School District and began her career as a second grade teacher at Webster Elementary School. By her second year of teaching, her talents were well known and her classroom became a model classroom for other teachers in the district to come and observe. It was also during this period that Glenna lost her younger brother, Earl, at age 29. In her first marriage in 1968, Glenna married a photographer who did aerial photography and this is when Glenna learned to fly and eventually received her private pilot license. In the following years, one of her delights was to fly to Gilroy, CA to pick up her niece, Sherry, and her nephew Jeff. She loved her niece and nephew and was always involved in their lives. After the end of her first marriage, it was in the late 1970s, that Glenna met Carlos, who had been assigned to Webster Elementary School as Principal. After a year, Glenna became the Reading Resource Teacher at Webster, and by the second year the magic happened. Carlos requested a transfer to another school. Soon after, Carlos and Glenna were married on Magic Island in Honolulu, HI. Glenna also became a step-mother to Carlos' daughter Nora. The following years were filled with many family and school affairs. Glenna was always the perfect host, assuring that the needs of every guest were met. There were many Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations where she would spend hours baking and cooking to prepare the perfect event. There were many escapes that Glenna and Carlos made to their home in Yosemite to just be alone and share time together. A sad time for Glenna during this time was the illness of her mom, who eventually passed away. As time passed, Glenna's career began to move rapidly. By now she had earned her Administrative Credential and her first administrative position was as Vice Principal at Aynesworth Elementary School. It was not long before she was transferred to Norseman Elementary School, which was a large school with many challenges. She embraced those challenges and because of her efforts, the school became a much better place for teachers to teach and students to learn. After her stay at Norseman, Glenna was selected to open a new school that was to be built in southeast Fresno. It was her responsibility to plan the school from the ground up, designing the curriculum, and hiring every individual teacher to assure the best teaching team possible and the best classified staff to serve the students of Ann Leavenworth Elementary School. The Accelerated Learning Model, under Glenna's leadership, became a great success. As a Principal, she earned the respect and appreciation of the teachers, classified staff, students, and parents of her school. She was also well respected by her colleagues in the district. In 1997, Glenna was selected as the outstanding Fresno County Administrator of the Year. Many other awards were to follow. When people asked why Glenna had so few discipline problems at her school, students said it best, "We behave because that is what Mrs. Encinas expects of us. She loves us and we are Ann L. Stars". After seven years as Principal at Ann Leavenworth School, Glenna retired to spend time enjoying Carlos and her beloved Pasta, a little Maltese mix puppy she adopted at Ann L. School. Pismo Beach was one of their favorite spots. After Pasta's passing, Glenna and Carlos began cruising and never stopped. They saw so much of the world in the last ten years. One thing that Glenna and Carlos discovered was that whether it was on the French Riviera or shopping at Costco, what really mattered was being together and sharing precious time. Glenna always told Carlos, "Honeybunch, when our time comes, let's go with no regrets." The only regret will be that she left us so soon. Glenna was preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd and Lucille Wilson; and her brother, Earl K. Wilson. She is survived by her husband, Carlos Encinas, of 36 years; her step-daughter, Nora Encinas and her husband Adrian; her two step-grandchildren, Nathaniel and Matthew; her sister, Charleen Adair and her husband Orval; her niece, Sherry Drake Marshall; her grand-nephew Jayden; her nephew, Jeff Drake, and his life partner Carol. She also leaves behind her many cousins and in-laws. The family would like to thank the wonderful doctors and staff at Community Regional Medical Center and the great people at Hinds Hospice for the care given to our beloved Glenna. A Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church on Thursday, April 6, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. followed by a reception at Ft. Washington Golf and Country Club at 12:00 noon.