Renee Evette Glauber

Renee Evette Glauber, 93, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 12th, 2024 in Orange County, CA. She was born on January 21st, 1931, in Johannesburg, South Africa to Meri and Morris Jacobson, the youngest of four children. She was very close to her siblings Rochelle, Ita and Gerald who all predeceased her.

She was educated in Johannesburg. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Medical Social Work and served as a social worker at the Johannesburg Children’s Hospital.

Upon her first marriage to Bertie Odes, the couple relocated to Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), where they raised their son Kim. In Salisbury she established a thriving bookstore called Readers Corner. On returning to Johannesburg with Kim several years later, her love and involvement with books brought her to a senior position as a buyer for Exclusive Books, South Africa’s premier bookstore.

In 1966, she married Sam Axelrod, who happened to be Dennis’ lifelong best friend, becoming a new mother to Sam’s daughter Niki. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish a new business, Grove Nursing Services, which grew to be the largest agency of its kind, providing skilled nurses to private patients in their home.

After Sam’s untimely passing in 1983, Evette made frequent visits to the U.S, especially to see her friend Ruth Glauber and Ruth’s husband Dennis. She was at Ruth’s deathbed with the family and it was little surprise that some eighteen months later, Evette and Dennis would cement their own relationship by marrying in 1986.

Evette and Dennis lived in Seattle experiencing a life full of friendships, travel and music, music, music. It was somehow inevitable that with every organization she joined, ranging from Soroptimist International, Faculty Auxiliary of the University of Washington, the Seattle Opera Guild, and above all the Seattle Chamber Music Society, she rose rapidly to the rank of President.

Beginning in the early 2000s, Dennis and Evette began visiting Laguna Woods Village in Orange County, California as snowbirds. In 2013, they made it their permanent home. Evette quickly made her mark with Community Concerts of Laguna Woods Village, rising to be co-president. Evette loved to play the cello and was an accomplished artist and ceramicist. She had a lifelong love of music and the arts and had many loving and meaningful friendships across the generations.

She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Dennis, and by their children, Kim Odes (Tania) in Rancho Mission Viejo, California; Niki Netanel (Neil) in Encino, California/Zichron Yaakov, Israel; Harry Glauber (Carole) in Ra’anana, Israel; Barbara Lindenberg (Martin) in Bellaire, Texas; and David Glauber (Drue) in Scottsdale, Arizona and fifteen grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren. Evette was predeceased by Chana Maister Cohen, the oldest of their children.

Evette will always be lovingly remembered and missed by her family and friends. The family requests that any donations in Evette’s honor be made to Community Concerts LWV, the Foundation of Laguna Woods Village or Magen David Adom.