Sterling Frederick White
Sterling Frederick White passed away at his Ajijic home on September 21 at the age of 96.
White was born December 20, 1920, at the family farm near Turkey Ford, Oklahoma, to Herold Omer and Helen Alice (Johnson) White.
His early childhood was spent in Turkey Ford, but in 1928, his father traded in the family’s Model T for a 1928 Whippet, and they moved to the “wild, wild West” to educate Native Americans at Fort Wingate Boarding School in New Mexico.
After high school, White worked as a laborer on a soil conservation project, and in 1942 joined the U.S. Army where he completed his Civil Engineering degree.
In the Army, he trained and served in numerous states, and was sent to the Philippines and Japan in 1945. After receiving an honorable discharge, and working in various states, he met Gladys Viola Kobalt in Utah. They married in 1951, raising two sons, Charles and Lloyd, in Parker, Arizona and Southern California. He continued working as a civil engineer into his mid 80s.
White moved to Ajijic in 1996. He enjoyed walking around town, making new friends and attending the Wednesday market.
White had a few passions that followed him throughout his life: buying cars, playing golf and poker, looking dapper, drinking Coca Cola and smoking cigars. He smoked every day since he was a child.
He is survived by his two sons, six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
White was known to family and friends to be consistent, honest and dependable. He will be remembered fondly.
A memorial service for family will be held at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California on his birthday, when his ashes will be placed beside those of his beloved wife, Gladys.
Robert Britt Glenn
Robert (Beto) Britt Glenn died in the comfort of his home in the San Juan Cosalá Raquet Club Sunday, October 1.
Glenn was born on September 16,1943 in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where he attended high school and college. He received a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Glenn served in the U.S. Army in Turkey and Korea for three years. He was vice president of the University of Alaska and executive vice president of the Stanford Group.
Glenn’s life changed when he moved to Ajijic 13 years ago. He became a volunteer at an orphanage in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, as well as for the Mexican Red Cross. He was Master of the Ajijic Masonic Lodge, president of the Ajijic Shrine Club and was in charge of the Shriner’s Children’s Committee.
Glenn met his wife Cati ten years ago and shared a beautiful, loving and happy life, with a big extended family and lots of friends. He enjoyed dancing, especially to blues music, and playing golf and tennis with his friends.
Glenn is survived by his wife Catalina; son Christopher; stepchildren Domingo, Catalina and Fernando; grandchildren Elliot, Liam and Ori; and step-grandchildren Valeria and Dominguito.