Glee I. Grau passed away peacefully March 13, 2019. Her sparkling blue eyes, ready smile and peaceful soul touched the lives of all who knew her.

Glee, daughter of Ingeborg and Ray Atwood, was born April 3, 1932 in Tolley, North Dakota. The fourth of nine children, she worked hard on the family farm when not attending the one-room country school or Tolley Lutheran church. Living off the land (and having five brothers) taught her tenacity and how to make something out of nothing, but also instilled in her a deep love of family and trust in God.

With her teaching degree from Minot, Glee’s first job was at a one-room school near the coal mines, but the real adventure began when she boarded the train to teach grade school on the other side of the state in Enderlin. On a fortuitous day trip to Fargo with a girlfriend, she caught the eye of NDSU student Roger Grau at the campus bowling alley. They married June 19, 1955 and began a beautiful 61-year journey together, first in Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado, and later in Dickinson, ND.

Always a teacher and artisan, Glee shared her love of creativity with her three daughters, Angela, LaVonne and Candace, from the time they could hold a crayon and wield a sewing needle and thread. And when not teaching them how to be ladies or to bake bread and pies, she loved playing board games, especially Chinese checkers.

Glee helped Roger at the Coast-to-Coast store in the 1970s-80s, but her creative soul was always ready for new challenges. She enjoyed painting landscapes and florals, sewing and quilting, and volunteering at church. Then in mid 1980s, while Roger learned the gunsmithing trade in Trinidad, Colorado, Glee studied watercolor painting and stained glass.

Over the next 25 years Glee shared her faith in God through numerous stained glass windows she created for churches and homes in North Dakota, Minnesota and Idaho, including a 700-piece, cross-shaped window in their Dickinson home church, Redeemer Lutheran. One of her favorite symbols was the dove, a symbol of peace; rather a fitting choice for her since it mirrored her gentle, peaceful spirit that people experienced wherever she worshipped and lived, even in her final years at Touchmark in Bismarck.

Glee brought beauty to the world through her art. She loved teaching, and loved being with people, in her travels with Roger and especially with the eight grandchildren. They taught her to laugh until she cried; she taught them how to bake pies, and of course, how to play Chinese checkers.

She is survived by her three daughters: Angela (Hank) Willenbring of Perham, MN; LaVonne (Rex) Ewing of Masonville, CO; Candace (Paul) Harron of Bismarck, ND; and three siblings: Raymond Atwood, Lela Peterson and Larry Atwood. She was preceded in death by her husband, Roger, in June 2016.

Funeral Service will be Friday, March 29 at 2:00 pm CT at Bethel Lutheran Church in Bismarck, with a reception following. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Interment at McKinney Cemetery, Tolley, will take place at a later date.

Memorials may be directed to Martin Luther School in Bismarck or Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota, or mailed c/o Candace Harron, 3917 Overlook Drive, Bismarck, ND 58503.