Glenda Dee Sirota

Glenda Dee Shmikler Sirota, known to family and friends as Glenda, passed away on March 8, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 86, after a life marked by devotion, creativity, service, and love. She was born on January 6, 1940, in Champaign, Illinois, to Joseph Shmikler and Alice Goldsmith, and she carried the values of hard work, curiosity, and resilience throughout her life. Glenda was a woman who never stood still for long, and she brought energy and imagination to everything she touched

Glenda was raised with a strong sense of family and purpose, and she built a life centered on both. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later received her Master's Degree in Creativity from Governor's State University, a fitting reflection of the way she lived. She approached learning not as a requirement, but as a lifelong calling, and she used that learning to inspire others in classrooms, homes, businesses, and communities.

Glenda began her career as a school teacher, where she shared her enthusiasm and encouragement with students. She later founded her own business, Come Out Creativity, through which she traveled to schools throughout the area and led workshops for teachers, helping them find new ways to bring creativity into their lesson plans. Her work was rooted in the belief that imagination mattered, and that children and adults alike benefited when they were given room to think, make, and create. She later worked as a sales representative for the giftware company The Market Place, where she set every record possible and helped put Andy, Susie, and Ted through college through her determination and tireless effort. She spent countless late nights in her basement office and long days on the road visiting customers, always giving everything she had to the people and responsibilities she loved.

Creativity was not merely something Glenda practiced, but something that lived in her every day. There was never a moment when she was not making, doodling, sewing, building, or imagining something new. If she was on the phone, she might be sketching remarkable artwork on the Yellow Pages. She created miniature houses, sewed, knitted and needle-pointed with extraordinary skill, and could make nearly anything she set her mind to. Later in life, she began making purses and launched One of a Kind by Glenda, a business that placed her handmade purses in stores throughout Chicagoland, including Von Maur in Yorktown. During the COVID pandemic, she began sewing masks and turned that effort into a full operation to help others in a time of need. She later took up painting rocks, continuing her lifelong habit of transforming ordinary materials into something meaningful and beautiful.

Glenda was deeply involved in her family's life and in the lives of those around her. She served as Den Mother for Andy and Ted during their Cub Scout years and later as President of the Homewood-Flossmoor High School Parent's Association while Andy and Susie were in high school. Her list of achievements and accomplishments was long, but what mattered most was the way she showed up for people. She was steady, engaged, and generous with her time, her talent, and her heart.

She was a devoted member of the Jewish faith, and her values were reflected in the way she lived. Glenda loved blackjack and delighted in going to the casino whenever she was able. She enjoyed Jeopardy at 3:30, loved the Bears and the Fighting Illini when they were winning, and knew how to ignore them when they were not. She had a particular fondness for Three Musketeers bars, See's Candy, and Coca-Cola, even when she knew better. These small pleasures were part of the warmth and humor that made her so memorable to those who knew her best.

Glenda was the beloved wife of Stuart Sirota for sixty-four years (until his death on April 19, 2025), and their marriage was a lasting partnership built on love, loyalty, and shared life. She was the cherished mother of Andrew, Susan, and Edward, and she loved each of her children equally and without condition. She was the proud grandmother of Lauren, Taima, Hannah, Jaimie, Safiya, Emily, RJ, and Zachary, and the loving great-grandmother of Oliver and Elliot. She had a special and individual relationship with each of them, and she remained present in their lives with steady affection and unwavering support. Her family was the center of her world, and she gave them a legacy of creativity, strength, and devotion that will endure for generations.

Glenda's life was one of motion, purpose, and love. She gave generously of herself, created beauty wherever she went, and left an imprint on her family, her work, and her community that will not be forgotten. As Pablo Picasso once said, "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." Glenda lived that truth in her own way, bringing color, imagination, and care into the lives of others every day. She will be remembered with deep love and gratitude.