Obituary of Glenn Brower Carson

Glenn was born on September 2, 1941 at Peck Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, New York to Bartley Rhodes and Muriel Hedwig Sofia (Rolff) Morgan. Not much more is known about her early childhood, other than she quit taking naps at five months and her mother had to tie a string around her to take her own naps. When her father returned from his South American assignment at the end of WWII, he did so on a convalescence ship filled with tuberculosis patients. With a bleak prognosis, the family of four jumped in a surplus Willy's Jeep, christened "Maud", and drove to the Texas State Tuberculosis Sanitorium in San Angelo, Texas. Story goes that after three years of lying flat on his back, Rhodes sat up and declared it was time to go back to work. After his stint at Goodfellow AFB, Muriel proclaimed that she was tired of being a Damn Yankee. With Glenn's older brother in college, the three of them moved to the Black Forest in 1954 with Rhodes working at Fort Carson. The move allowed Glenn to find her first love, horses. That love nearly killed her when she was crushed under her horse when spooked on the trail. At the age of 14, she was told by doctors that her pelvis was so damaged that she would never walk again. Wrong. She graduated valedictorian from Air Academy High School in the second ever class of 1959. And after one year of study at Colorado State University, she traded her textbooks for an apron to raise two sons.Newly divorced in 1967, she worked during the day as a law clerk and model while attending class at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in the evenings as her mother tended to two lively towheads, Ward and Morgan. Claiming to be the inspiration for John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High", she was truly "born in the summer of her 27th year". She earned a BA in Education in 1972 and taught fourth grade at Helen Keller Elementary in north Colorado Springs for the next two years. The perks of teaching gave her the ability to make the most of summers and winter breaks. She would be the first boat in most mornings at Prospect Lake, took camping trips around the state, and yearly road trips that included both Florida and California and most points in between. With an appetite for adventure, she moved her boys up to the Vail Valley in 1974 to teach second grade at Meadow Mountain Elementary. Her claim to fame in the valley was being the very first trailer hookup at the Eagle River Village Mobile Home Park in Edwards in November of 1974. She successfully passed her love for skiing to both of her boys; one found powder and the other competition. In typical Glenn fashion, she jumped in with both feet with Morgan's ski racing. She became a certified timer, but more importantly the surrogate mother to racers from Steamboat, Aspen, Breckenridge, and Ski Club Vail. EVERYONE knew Glenn.While in Vail, she continued her courtship with Dr. John "Jack" Carson. He got tired of the long-distance dating and convinced her to marry in February of 1976. She would once again trade a career for an apron. While doting on her two boys, she went back to school and earned her Masters in Special Education in 1981. A near tragedy in 1984 would introduce her to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Auxiliary. Morgan had broken his neck at a racing camp and would take more than a year to fully recover. She answered a call for volunteers to observe Chimpanzee behavior in cooperation with the Jane Goodall Institute and it was true love. She found a passion that combined her love for animals and teaching. This love would follow her the rest of her life.But let's not forget that appetite for adventure. With Jack as her partner in crime, they crossed the four corners of the globe in search of the new and wild. A safari in Africa would be followed by a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. A photo-safari of the Polar Bears of Manitoba here and the Castles of Croatia there. Golf was also a common theme. Longtime members at the Kissing Camels Club, lifelong friends were also made.When Jack passed in 2016, Glenn focused her energies on the zoo and her newly adopted dog, Cisco. But always the social butterfly, she would have a chance meeting with Captain Jim Lauer at a local jazz bar. For the last three-plus years, these two continued the adventure. A Columbia River cruise and Tanzania safari were highlights.Upon returning from Tanzania in October of 2019, Glenn suffered a slight stroke while taking her bag off the carousel. With the cause indeterminable, she went to her internist to determine the source of some mid-abdomen pain. It was then that four separate tumors were discovered as stage four pancreatic cancer. Undaunted by the gravity of the diagnosis, she began chemotherapy in November of 2019. While getting good results, the therapy proved too poisonous for her and she was given a chemo holiday in January. She would feel great through the summer but was unable to travel due to the Covid lock downs. She (and Jim) would concentrate their energies on the monumental task of downsizing from her Pinecliff estate to a townhouse in Kissing Camels. She was mostly successful, with the exception of covering all wall space in her new place with artwork and photographs. On October 5th, she received news that the second therapy had lost its effectiveness and it was time to coordinate home hospice. After only her second nurse visit on October 20th, she suffered a moderate stroke and became bedridden two days later. The stroke was a blessing, as she would die peacefully five days later without suffering the pains of her cancer. She waited for it to snow so she could fly with the snowflakes that Sunday morning.Her bucket list: to ski and scuba dive, AGAIN. While we will miss her infectious smile, her eternal gift is the joy that she spread to all. She truly made the world around her a better place.She is survived by her brother, Luckey Morgan; sons, Ward (PJ) Mahanke, Morgan (Melissa) Mahanke; stepdaughter, Dayna Carson (Mike) Wiederich; granddaughters, Cailin Mahanke and Cameron Mahanke; grandson, Carson Mahanke; and her loyal pooch, Cisco. With the current health regulations, the family will postpone her Celebration of Life until further notice. In her memory, simply pay it forward and/or donate to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo or charity of your choice. Most of all, adopt her spirit to see the world in a positive light.