Glenn E. Solum Obituary
Glenn “Papa” Everett Solum (91) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 25, 1931. He joined the love of his life, Adelyne, in heaven on October 26, 2022. They celebrated 65 years of love and marriage, living in the same house in Gurnee, IL, that they built together in 1955.
Glenn served his country during the Korean War as a Sergeant with the 2nd Infantry Division. He married Adelyne Clifford on May 22, 1954, and they started to build their life together. Glenn pursued a career in carpentry. He was a member of the Local 250 Carpenters Union for 66 years and worked his last 20 years with JJ Henderson Inc. of Gurnee before retiring in 1995.
Glenn enjoyed a full and rewarding life. In his retirement, Glenn took to woodworking, which he called his ‘passionate hobby’. His wife could always find him in his workshop working all hours of the day and night. He was always coming up with new and oftentimes more challenging designs to create. Glenn enjoyed sharing his gift with others. His woodwork became a hallmark of his yearly garage sale. He also liked to invite his friends and family down to his ‘shop’ to pick out their favorite pieces. Glenn’s other favorite pastime was riding his bike. As long as there wasn’t snow on the ground, he could be seen around town taking two or three 4-mile bike rides in one day. His bike rides served as a way to connect with his neighbors, friends, and Gurnee community. He continued to enjoy both of these hobbies through to his nineties.
Most of all, he loved spending time with his family. Long, summer days could be spent out on the back patio, watching his kids and grandkids play on the concrete basketball court he made decades ago. In the spring and fall, he would drive to northern Wisconsin to join his brothers for turkey, duck, and deer hunting season. Just two years ago, he was proud to have four generations of Solums join him ‘up north’ for the first time, including his eleven-year old great-grandson. Glenn’s favorite sports teams were the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and the Mundelein Mustangs, where two of his grandsons play baseball.
He is survived by his four children: Glenn (Marianne), Cindy (Lennart Adamsson), Jim (Kayce), Ron (Julie), his ten grandchildren: Ryan (Bianca), Justin, Kris (Christine), Jimmy, Maggie, Jackie, Kinzie, Anna, Maddox, Mason, four great-grandchildren: Jack, Luke, Emersyn, Savannah, brothers Marlin (Rosemary), Gale (Cheryl), and sister Barbara (Jack Zupan). He was preceded in death by his parents: Severt and Esther Solum, five of his siblings: Wayne, Severt, Keith, Donna and Mary Ann, and his wife, Adelyne.
To celebrate his love of family, friends, and community, his family will host a Celebration of Life on Veterans Day, Friday November 11, at Gurnee’s Viking Park Dance Hall, 4374 Old Grand Ave. Doors will be open from 4 to 7pm, with a chance to share stories at 6pm. There will also be a visitation at the Warren Funeral Home earlier that day at 12:30pm and ending with a short service and military presentation at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, the family has established a fund to dedicate a bench in Viking Park to Glenn’s memory and to his decades long love of riding his bike through the park. Donations will be accepted on Venmo @Papa-Solum-Fund and at the Celebration of Life.
