Glenna Rose Pagel

Glenna Pagel, 89, of El Cajon, California died of natural causes on December 1, 2020. She was born in Winona County, Minnesota to James Leon Morcomb and Alice Marjorie (Pierce) Morcomb. Both parents went by their middle name. Except for one year in country school Glenna went to Lewiston High School graduating near the top of her class in 1949. She enjoyed high school and maintained contact with several of her high school friends for the rest of her life. She attended college in Winona for one year, then found a job at Northwest Airlines in Minneapolis.

The summer she was 14 she did waitress work in Lewiston. Expecting to do the same the next year she was surprised to find that she was too young as the legal requirement became age 16. Then she had the wonderful opportunity to spend the summer at her great uncle’s ranch in Montana enjoying horseback riding and the western lifestyle. She decided she wanted to marry a cowboy. She found her cowboy in Minnesota. Glenna Morcomb and Eldon Pagel were married in Winona, MN in 1952. They farmed on the Pagel farm near New Hartford. They both loved animals, especially horses and dogs, and named all the cattle they raised, when they ultimately sold the farm there were 97 head of cattle as part of the sale.

Their years of farming were interrupted by Eldon’s two years of military service. Glenna joined him at all his military stations, Missouri, San Diego, Germany, and France. Their son, Gary was born in France. Three more children, Dana, Dawn, and David were born after they returned to the family farm.

They had enjoyed living in San Diego and moved to California in 1966. Eldon worked as a welder in the shipyards and after the children were all in school Glenna worked at Sears. They owned nine Arabian horses and organized several western horses shows but did not have time to train their own for performance showing. Glenna and Eldon were married for 58 years. They were devoted to each other and to their children forming a close-knit family.

Glenna is survived by her children, Gary, David, and Dawn. Son-in-law Jose Covarrubias living in Valley Center, California, son, Dana retired in Thailand and sister, Kay Morcomb in Rochester, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by an infant brother, her parents, her husband, and sisters, Marjorie Rand Larson and Leone Summerfield.