Glenda Gilstrap

Everyone called her G.G. Not just the grandkids. Everyone.

G.G. believed in God the way other people believe in gravity: completely, and without question. She taught Sunday school. She helped lead Bible study. She could sit down at a piano and play the old hymns from memory, and if you were anywhere in the house, you'd likely hear her singing. She lived her faith more than she talked about it, and that was the whole point.

She was, in every sense, a lady. Her hair was done. Her house was kept. Her clothes were her own, chosen with care and worn with confidence. Nobody picked out G.G.'s outfit but G.G.

She had a quick wit, always gracious and never mean, and a way of being soft and strong at the same time, which is a harder thing to be than it sounds. She held onto her independence with both hands. Years after she stopped driving, she was still asking where her car was. Everyone knew it was never really about the car.

Her house was where the holidays happened. She cooked for a crowd every time, hosted more Thanksgivings and Christmases than anyone can count, and did not believe in letting anyone leave her table hungry. Her grandchildren were the great love of her life. She spoiled every one of them without a shred of shame, and they let her.

She was smiling at the very end. Anyone who knew her is not surprised.

Her faith never wavered. She always led with kindness. She was loving, and she was strong. She sang about heaven her whole life, and now she's seen it.

G.G. was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Lee "Gizz" Gilstrap, and her sister, Gail Stark.

She is survived by her sister, Quay Williams Logan; her children: Derek Gilstrap and his wife, Cindy; Amy Butler and her husband, Mark; and Raymond Gilstrap; her grandchildren: Derek Gilstrap Jr., Ryan Gilstrap, Patrick Howard, Rachel Edwards, Clair Daniel, Chelsea Jane Moore, and Kwyncee Rae Gilstrap; her 13 great-grandchildren; and everyone else who ever sat at her table and left full.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, October 12, 2026, at Lake Ridge Chapel in Lubbock, with Ricky Galvan officiating. The service will be livestreamed for those who can't be there in person.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the National CMV Foundation at nationalCMV.org