Valerie Ann Glesnes-Anderson

Valerie Ann Glesnes-Anderson passed away on August 8, 2021. She bravely battled cancer for twenty years. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister, daughter, grandmother and a visionary leader in healthcare services.

Valerie was born on February 5th, 1953, in New York City to parents Lawrence Glesnes and Jean (Croudace) Glesnes (both deceased). Valerie fondly recalled adventures as a child in her home, full of love and laughter, in Englewood, New Jersey. She also made recurring trips to Samoa to see her grandmother, Mary Croudace, and other family members.

She graduated from Holy Angels Academy (high school) and began college in her father’s home state at Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota, where Valerie majored in political science. There she made life-long friends and cultivated the passion that drove her professional career and personal life: helping others in her community. After a year long internship at Westminster Hospital in London and motivated by her desire to improve healthcare, Valerie earned a master’s in health care administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. While at the University of Michigan, Valerie was an active member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship where more amazing friendships started-- including meeting her future husband, Gary Anderson.

During their 43 years of marriage Valerie and Gary lived in Ann Arbor, Oak Park (Illinois), Short Hills (New Jersey) and Okemos (Michigan) and raised two amazing daughters, Lauren and Elizabeth. Wherever they lived, Valerie ensured that the Glesnes-Anderson home was a welcoming space of love, through her warmth and kindness as a hostess and through her delicious cooking.

Valerie always said her greatest accomplishment in life was her relationship with Gary and raising her two girls. Beyond those relationships, however, some of Valerie’s other noteworthy achievements included:

* Serving as the Editor of the American Hospital Association's Health Law Journal.

* Serving as Vice President of St. Michael's Medical Center and St. James Hospital, as well as President of West Essex Hospital in the Newark, New Jersey-based Cathedral Health System.

* Serving as Vice President at Newark Beth Israel Hospital. In this role, Valerie spearheaded the building and implementation of a new day care center - it was not a coincidence that she took on this project as a mother of two young daughters.

* Developing a new health center on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan.

* Serving as Executive Director of the Michigan Capital Area Health Alliance and on the Board of the Michigan Health Council. For her work within the community and the State of Michigan, Valerie was honored with the Visionary Leader Award.

What makes these achievements all the more remarkable is that many were accomplished as Valerie battled cancer. In 2001, Valerie was first diagnosed with breast cancer. In May of 2014, after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, she was given only two years to live; and again, in December of 2018 she was given only 6 months to live. However, Valerie never accepted her prognosis-- motivated by her love of family. She was a remarkable, brave leader, always persevering.

In addition to the friends and family Valerie made across the globe, she leaves behind her older sister, Patricia Cutler (husband, Steve); her beloved husband, Gary Anderson; two daughters, Elizabeth and Lauren Anderson; son-in-law Tait Chamberlain; her two-year-old grandson Anderson Chamberlain; sisters and brothers-in-law, many nieces and nephews; and her dog Lilly.

If desired, please consider a gift to “RIP Medical Debt”. A memorial service is being planned for mid-September.

A Memorial Service is planned for Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 11am EST. Either over zoom or in-person at the MSU Alumni Chapel (vaccination and face mask required). To find out more information about zoom and RSVP to attend in-person please follow this link: http://evite.me/2jEzty2rNt