Glenda M Orke, 89 of Bottineau, North Dakota, passed peacefully on Sunday, August 18, 2024, surrounded by family at her home in Bottineau.  Her funeral will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 10:00 am at the First Lutheran Church in Bottineau.  Visitation will be Friday from 1:00 pm until 7:00 pm at the Nero Funeral Home in Bottineau.  Burial will be at the Oak Creek Cemetery in Bottineau.

Glenda was born on November 3, 1934 on a farm in rural Newburg, ND. She was raised by her aunt and uncle Ruth and Halvor Opdahl, whose parental love was always felt by her.

She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. She attended Newburg Public School and graduated in May 1952. She married Carroll Brandt on June 2, 1952. They were blessed with six children. They later divorced and Glenda married Donald Orke on June 14, 1977. They lived on the farm by Carbury until September 2012 when they moved into an apartment in Bottineau, ND. Their blended family consisted of eleven children, eighteen grandchildren and twenty-two great grandchildren.

Glenda was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Bottineau. She participated in a variety of community activities; Sons of Norway, WELCA, Bottineau Senior Center, Turtle Mountain Church, the Bottineau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence and census worker.

Glenda loved to play card games, especially Hand and Foot, with her family and friends. She would spend hours with her family putting puzzles together and then gluing them to use as pictures. Her quiet time was spent sewing, quilting and embroidery, including Hardanger later in life. She also enjoyed feeding and watching the birds in her front yard. She would make butterflies from two liter plastic bottles, which she gave many to friends and family.

She was an excellent cook and baker, turning out dozens of delicious buns and loaves of bread, along with caramel rolls and a variety of cookies and bars.

Her life on the farm was filled with a variety of activities. She loved having her grandchildren come to visit. They would walk the railroad tracks by Carbury and play with the kittens in the barn. She had a special box, labeled Kitty Day Care, in the barn where the cats could be protected. The box was the perfect place to feed and pet the cats, usually leading to many being tame enough to come when called. She also spent many hours with Don in the family garden. They would grow a variety of vegetables and flowers. Trying to grow flowers was a challenge as Don, the farmer, wanted the flowers to be planted in rows so he could use the tiller to help control the weeds!!!

The happiest time in Glenda's life was watching her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren together and being involved with them. They could count on Gramma Orke having ice cream at her house to make root beer floats. They also knew that Gramma Orke kept Tootsie Pops and mini bags of M&Ms in the freezer; there just for them as a special treat when they came to visit! She kept in touch family via phone calls, emails and Facebook. She learned how to text when she was 85! Glenda loved sharing the cabin she and Don had at Lake Metigoshe for fourteen years. The family would come up and spend hours in the water or sitting around swapping tales of childhood memories.

Glenda enjoyed getting to know her half siblings with the Holen and Follese families she discovered later in life. Imagine her surprise to learn she had fifteen new siblings! She was grateful for their acceptance of her into their lives and appreciated their traveling across many states to visit her.

All who knew Glenda will remember her as a kind, caring, giving and loving person with a radiant smile and positive outlook on life. Her family will remember her kind heart, sweet smiles and many hugs. She was dearly loved and will be deeply missed.

Glenda was preceded in death by her husband Donald and is survived by sisters Florence (Jack) and Marian, Follese siblings Mary, Gary, Dorothy, Linda, Janis and John, Holen siblings Marie, Myrna and Dwight, children Raoul (Rimute), Bruce (Ana Marie), Guy (Marj), Doran (Kim), Craig (Deb) and Penny (Bob), grandchildren Shana, Spencer, Ryan, Erin, Codi, Tyler, Brody, Brier, Melissa, Theresa, Zack, great grandchildren Haley, Andon, Rylan, Olivia, Hazel, Ocie, Corbin, McKenna, Harper, Lawson, Bentley, Brickson ,Devry and  Orke relatives Jeannie, who she shared a special relationship with, Randy(Donna), Brad and Corinne. Her family, friends and neighbors will remember her love and think of her often.