Mary Louise Glaze passed away peacefully on February 26, 2026, with her family by her side.

Born in Presho, South Dakota, she was the daughter of Albert and Martha Tedin and the sister of Marlys, twins Bob and Ruth, and her younger brother David. She cherished her brothers and sisters, as they, and dozens of cousins, raised each other in the rural prairie land of South Dakota.

After graduating from Presho High School in 1954, Mary Lou attended Jamestown College in North Dakota before transferring to Minot State College in North Dakota. During her college years she was a cheerleader, sang in the choir, and participated in beauty pageants where her talent was poetry. One summer she worked in Yellowstone National Park where she found a love for horseback riding and hiking.

While at Minot State she met fellow student James Glaze, and they married in August of 1961. Following their marriage, they moved to Minneapolis so Jim could attend the University of Minnesota. Mary Lou taught school and found joy in attending university and Minnesota Vikings football games.

After graduation, Jim and Mary Lou moved to Eugene, Oregon, where Jim pursued his PhD in physics at the University of Oregon. Mary Lou worked as an elementary school teacher from 1963 to 1969 while Jim completed his degree. During this time, Mary Lou gave birth to their son Aaron in 1968.

After Jim’s graduation, they moved to Los Angeles where Jim accepted a position with Hughes Aircraft Company. Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, they experienced the heartbreaking loss of their son, Aaron. Soon thereafter, Mary Lou gave birth to their daughter Paula.

In 1972, the family moved to Danville, California, when Jim accepted a position at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and a year later Mary Lou gave birth to their son Brian.

Mary Lou and Jim raised their children in Danville, creating lifelong friendships with families they met through their children and Jim’s colleagues at the laboratory. She continued working on her master's degree in art, teaching part-time and tutoring, while spending hours helping her own children write and edit essays, preparing them for tests, and sharing with them her love of art. She was gifted with artistic talent that ran in her family and later shared that gift by teaching art to children and encouraging the artistic talents of their son Brian.

Mary Lou had many friends and a wide range of interests, including poetry, reading, bridge, and especially the classic works of Southern authors. She loved opera as well as blue grass and country music.

Travel was another great love of Mary Lou’s. In the early 1960s, she and Jim traveled to London where they bought a Triumph TR4 and spent three months exploring Europe. Their love of adventure continued throughout their lives, taking them to places such as Japan, Russia, Turkey, and again Europe. Yet one of her greatest joys was returning to South Dakota each summer to show Paula and Brian the prairie land where she grew up and introduce them to their many relatives. With so many cousins still living there, her siblings often joked that they were related to half the state.

She was the kind of mother who encouraged art projects, saved anything that could be used for costumes so Paula and Brian could perform funny skits together, supported science fair projects, and didn’t think twice about letting Brian build a skateboard ramp in the backyard. She loved cats and welcomed a few stray ones into the family over the years. Becoming grandma “Mor mor”, the Swedish word for grandmother was a great joy in her life, and in return she became a magical and treasured gift to her three grandchildren. She loved spending time playing games, doing art projects, and sparking their curiosity about the world.

Her patience, warmth, and calm presence made not only children, but adults, fall in love with her as well. Along with her generous and kind spirit, she had a witty and playful side that once you discovered it made you love her even more. She was always happy to share a glass of wine or her favorite, a gin and tonic, while talking and laughing with family and friends, often with country music playing in the background.

Mary Lou was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, teacher, true friend and one of a kind woman. She is survived by her husband James Glaze, her daughter Paula Carter, her son Brian Glaze, and her grandchildren Jackson, Kate Anna, and Alexa Carter. She will be missed by all leaving imprints on our hearts that will always remain. 

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