Glenn Reid Vandergriff Obituary (1956 - 2022)

Charity suffers long, and is kind, and envies not, and is not puffed up, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, and rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Moroni 7:51 On August 13, 2022, Elder Glenn R. Vandergriff died unexpectedly. He was born in Chattanooga Tennessee to Eva Lorene and Fred E. Vandergriff on April 11, 1956. He attended The University of Tennessee majoring in Physics where he met his wife Linda on October 27th, 1974. His mother Lorene told Glenn from an early age that he had a calling in the ministry. Glenn dedicated his life to service to others reaching out to the bruised and broken wherever he found them. Glenn read the Book of Mormon and considered what he read was true; so he joined Linda's church. They both were called to be Elders in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. With his wife, they moved around the United States over their 48-year partnership. Thus, he and his wife have friends and family all over the world. To allow everyone to participate in the memorial, a virtual memorial is being planned for October 27th. A memorial website https://glennvandergriff.wixsite.com/memorial has been established for those who wish to share memories or request a memorial link invitation be sent to them. On the memorial site is an address to send snail mail cards or letters. Glenn's wife has asked in lieu of flowers that you donate to either the NRA for 2nd Amendment support or the Shriners Hospital who helped Glenn overcome his short leg birth defect. A third option is to select a kid's physics book and donate it to your library in his name. Messages and cards for Linda should be sent how you usually contact her. If you want to send mail, the memorial site has an address to send to. Survivors include his wife Dr. Linda J. Vandergriff; his mother-in-law Joyce Dawbarn (pd Ronald); his stepmother Dr. Kathy Youngblood (Cheryl Fox); his sisters-in-laws Rhonda Shiffler (pd Todd), Heather Dawbarn (Jake), Vera Dawbarn (pd Ronald Albert), Robin Benton (pd Mark), and Dianne Vandergriff (pd Perry); his nieces and nephews Holly Kirk (Alex), Leslie Webb (Dewayne), Sydney Hutson (Lucas), Whitney Burford (Walker), Allison Tewell (Tony), Matthew Vandergriff, Jon Michael Vandergriff (Jill), and McCaull Vandergriff; and his great-nieces and nephews Victoria Nelle, Haley Christina, Emma-Kate, London June, Niles Santel, Annabelle May, Summer Rose, Holden Ariana, and Roark Isaac (pd). Glenn and Linda's family extended far beyond blood to all those they loved and cherished. As one message noted that "One of Glenn's major talents was making teenagers believe in themselves." Thus, Glenn is survived by all those who he made a difference for that became our family. With Linda's career moving them around the country, Glenn found many ways to serve. Initially, Glenn helped at district youth camps and other church events. In Florida, he and Linda served as Youth ministers. In Tennessee, they continued youth work, published the district's newsletter for a database of over 2000 members, and traveled to missions and branches around the state. He preached and ran services, as well as, served as the Philadelphia PA branch treasurer while Linda was their first woman pastor. Moving to California, they helped George and Sharon Blais' lead RLDS's expansion effort to share the gospel. Glenn conceptualized and produced training and missionary materials to be used at the local, regional, and world church levels. Moving to Virginia for Linda's work, Glenn continued his servant calling helping others realize their worth and become what they are called to be. Glenn grew up with the information technology with his first experience in 1974 at University of Tennessee with card deck driven Fortran programs. Over the years, his working knowledge of computers grew. Glenn summarized his experience in creating, maintaining, and extracting information from databases; training and providing consulting for software users; and publishing information with innovative solutions and in diverse media. In California, he established Rod of Iron Publishing. He created/repaired computers and did desktop publishing and creative illustrations for clients. He built and donated computers for the Kids for Jesus, so they could have technology necessary for success. In Virginia, he formed a partnership with Holly and Alex and registered 3 Ace Publishing to continue desktop publishing. Glenn developed a CD ROM for the National Security Space Architect (NSSA) documenting its Space Weather Architecting study. He became very proficient with digital photography tools and helped his wife with her lifelong photo album hobby. When he "retired" he kept helping folks and became knowledgeable in many new technologies. Glenn and Linda bought a 1991 Mazda Miata when they lived in Pennsylvania. Glenn loved driving and when they moved to California, they drove the original alignment of Route 66. It was just the beginning of their legendary road trips. Glenn loved the curvy roads and long drives. Everyone recognized Glenn in his Miata. When he lost his leg, he could no longer drive the Miata. But as he said, "most folk wait until they are retired to own a convertible, we have enjoyed ours for over 25 years". When the Miata was sold the final mileage was 436,239 miles driven mostly by Glenn. In addition to driving, Glenn loved reading and watching movies. His research and collection cover a wide range from religion to science to technology to science fiction. His passion for gathering knowledge was epic. He and Linda had long conversations about his research and Linda's theories. With this wide range of knowledge, he helped Linda with her dissertation, textbooks, and complex venture architecting solutions. Along with his wife he worked on the basis for complex venture architecting and helped Thatcher with a senior complexity science project. He belonged to many forums, blogs, and boards, offering advice on many topics such as European swords, theological points, science, guns, and knives. Glenn was a skilled craftsman and designed knives and improved his guns. He made beautiful wooden sword sheaths and leather holsters. He found many ways to improve his prosthetic and its use including the "Vandergriff hole" for improving prosthetic handling, zippered boots to enable changing shoes, and zippered pants for accessing the adjustable socket. Glenn was a very brave, innovative, and charitable man. He suffered from Cerebellar-Vestibular Syndrome (CVS) (aka Dyslexia) all his life but adopted the "Never give up - never surrender attitude". He was sad that so many think that dyslexia is not curable and wanted everyone to consult Dr. Levinson who has an 80% cure rate if caught early enough. On his memorial page, Glenn's story of what CVS meant in his life and how Dr. Levinson helped him is available. In Glenn's last years, he had many medical challenges. Our extended circle of family and friends helped with prayers and support that continue to be a great blessing. With the aid and friendship of many caregivers, he rose to conquer them. His wife will be eternally thankful for these kindnesses. Glenn had a favorite story that reflected his view of his ministry. It starts with boy walking on the beach with many starfishes stranded as the tide went out. This boy stopped and picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He continued to do this, not requiring the starfish to be worthy of saving or promising to keep in touch with him. An observer said you cannot save all of them, why do you try? Undaunted the young boy picked up another starfish and threw it back into the ocean. Then he said, I made a difference for that one. When the need seems to be overwhelming, remember you can make a difference for that one. May you be blessed for differences you made in our lives, may you realize you can make a difference for those you meet, and may you continue to be blessed by those who make a difference in your life.