Glenda Jean (Bookout) Kelly, 72, of Norwich, loving mother and grandmother, passed away on Saturday, April 8, 2023 at her home.

Glenda was born on July 21, 1950, in Walnut Ridge Ark. She was the youngest of five children, with her next oldest sibling being 13 years older than herself.

She would laugh that she was “Aunt Glenda” to nieces and nephews who were at least her age or older.

Some of her earliest memories were of picking cotton and working as a car hop so that she could buy her school clothes in the fall. She also adored spending time with her daddy, who she loved with her whole heart. Because her dad was a logger in Arkansas, he often would bring home orphaned animals for her to take care of and thus, her lifelong passion and love for animals was born. Over the course of her life, Glenda was mama to opossums, squirrels, raccoons, horses, a donkey, a bat, a few cats, and several beloved dogs. Her poodle, Zsa Zsa, always held a special place in her heart, and she would often remember and talk about her as time went by.

Gabby and Penny were her constant companions for the last several years of her life and were as spoiled as two little dogs could be. She and Bob called them “the girls” and they wanted for nothing. Glenda loved to watch the birds and squirrels who frequented her feeders and especially loved the hummingbirds and the cardinals who provided her with hours of joy and entertainment.

When she was 12 years old, her family moved to Wichita. She attended East High School and, upon completion of high school, quickly became a wife and mother. Glenda sold Stanley Home Products and worked at Chrys Clear building aquariums before attending cosmetology school in 1973. In 1977, Stephen and Glenda Kelly made a conscious decision to move their family out of the city. They moved to Norwich and found a place that immediately felt like home. Glenda waited tables at Rogene Weiniger’s café, worked at Farrar Corporation for a brief time, and then opened Kelly’s Kut and Kurl hair salon on Main Street, where the current grocery store is located. Later, she worked at Cessna building windshields, sold furniture at Suppesville Furniture store for eight years, kept the books for Maurice Coulter at the General Station for many years, and worked at the Viola General Station as well. In the early ‘90s, Glenda sold Contempo Fashion Jewelry and then Park Lane Jewelry. She was a natural and quickly rose in the company, earning several bonuses, cruises, and fur coats.

Glenda also enjoyed making jewelry for her family, and she was slightly obsessed with the Jewelry Television channel. She loved tanzanite and was beyond proud to present each of her granddaughters with a tanzanite ring. In 1998, she went to work as the office manager of Diamond Engineering in the Wichita office, where she was very happily employed for the next 20 years, retiring in 2018.

Glenda never met a stranger and made friends wherever she was. People couldn’t help but fall in love with her kind spirit, generosity, and loving heart. She would often say, “Has anyone told you they loved you today?

Well, they have now.”

Glenda loved the Lord and praised Him often while singing songs of praise and worship throughout her day.

She was a devoted mother to her own children and, over time, mothered many others who thought of her as a second mom or grandma. In the 1980s, she was the first woman president of the Norwich Booster Club.

She loved watching her children play all sports and was just as devoted to cheering on her grandchildren.

Even when she was no longer able to attend the games in person, she streamed every game that was available and sent her grandkids loving messages before and after they played to let them know that she was watching and that “Nana was proud of them.” She also loved to cheer for the K-State Wildcats, the Wichita State Shockers, and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Following in the footsteps of her brothers, Glenda loved cars and knew more about them than most men.

She was just 15 when she entered her first powder puff race, and in the early 1970s she became the first female driver in the street stock division at Wichita’s 81 Speedway. She attended the races for many years as an owner of a car (winning the 1975 KEYN Stock Car Championship), as a cheerleader for her brothers who were also race car drivers, and as one of the most beautiful trophy girls you have ever seen. She also wrote the “Speedway Newspaper” for the street stock division for a few years.

Glenda loved lake weekends throughout her life, and fishing was one of her favorite pastimes. Her grandchildren will forever remember fishing for “golly whoppers” and swimming with Nana in her backyard pond in the summers, singing and making up songs with her, and the smell of “White Diamonds” when she hugged them close. Glenda also enjoyed annual birthday trips to the casino with her children and eventually, her grandchildren. She was as lucky as one gets and always returned home as the big winner.

Glenda might best be known, however, as an avid gardener. She absolutely loved her flower gardens, and her yard was a beautiful haven. Her family made precious memories while spending countless hours together listening to her waterfall, barbecuing on the patio under her pergola, and looking at her beautiful flowers. In her later years, she and her roommate, Bob, grew the best garden around and enjoyed sharing tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, and squash with their co-workers, friends, and family.

Glenda is preceded in death by her parents, Tolbert Bookout and Ada (Hutzel) Bookout; brothers, Troy, Melvin, and Bill Bookout; sister, Shelby Glodean (Bookout) Fisher; husband, Stephen Kelly; mother-in-law Joyce (Clegg) Kelly; and her beloved sisters-in-law, brother-inlaw, and several nieces and nephews.

She is survived by her friend and companion Bob Sparks; her four children, Glen (Lory) Adams, Terry Adams, Michelle (Dax) Hayden and Michael (Carrie) Kelly; 13 grandchildren, Tyanne (Garrett) Hellums, Kyle (Loic) Adams, Hannah (Patrick) Gilmer, Austin Adams, Dalton Adams, Rachel (Fransico Hernandez) Adams, Olivia (Jeris) Campbell, Brin Hayden, Madeline Hayden, Megan (Zach) Woods, Kira Kelly, Braelyn Kelly, and Drew Kelly; seven great-grandchildren, Hudson, Hendrix, Kiana, Malachi, Sarai, Amirah, and Frankie; and her best friend and sister-in-law, Pam Adams. To our loving mother, grandma, nana, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend, we say “love you more.”

Funeral service will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 14, at Milton Baptist Church, Milton, with Pastor Mike Justice officiating. Interment will follow in Stitch Cemetery.

Arrangements were by Ebersole Mortuary, Conway Springs. Online condolences and guest book are available at www.ebersolemortuary.com.