A truly amazing woman from a generation like no other, a mentor, a friend and our wonderful mother Glenna Maduro de Rham passed away peacefully at her home in Gallatin Gateway, Montana, on Nov. 1, 2021, surrounded by her family. She was 85.
Glenna Maduro de Rham, 85, passed away Nov. 1, 2002. A memorial service and celebration of life party, with costumes, will be held on Oct. 31
Glenna led an amazing and storied life filled with adventure, love, and joy. She was born in New York City on Oct. 31, 1936 to Brim and Lillian Maduro. She grew up in Larchmont, New York, and Darien and traveled the world with her wonderful parents who loved and cherished her dearly.
She fell in love with horses at a young age and was a natural when it came to riding. The National Horsemanship Championship for the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Trophy is the most prestigious competition in the United States for Junior riders and in 1953 Glenna won The Maclay Finals at Madison Square Garden.
From the day she was born, she had a wonderful eye for art, fashion and interior design. After high school at Low Haywood School in Stamford she went to Bennett College in Millbrook, New York, where she won the school’s coveted Interior Design award.
With that in hand, she was off to New York City to live with friends and landed her first job with the prominent Wingate Paine Studio as the photographer’s assistant. She was very successful and had colorful stories of her experiences in the fashion photography business. Throughout her life Glenna was known for her unique style of designing, decorating and fashion sense.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained” was Glenna’s motto and she truly lived up to that. After a whirlwind courtship, Glenna married William de Rham on April 28, 1962, in New York City at Christ Church, United Methodist. They soon started a family and embarked on a journey that led to a wonderful marriage of 36 years living in New York City, Long Island, Bermuda, Gallatin Gateway in Montana and Delray Beach, Florida.
She was a wonderful mother who was very involved with her children and all their activities — rarely missing a game, show or match. In her spare time she helped on the ranch with everything from bottle feeding calves, breeding horses and raising foals, goats, sheep, ducks, chicks, bunnies, parrots and other animals she so loved!
Glenna, Bill, and their children loved travel and adventure — which sometimes led to life changing events, like deciding to purchase a dolphin show while on vacation in Florida and then moving it to Bermuda where they lived during the summers. Or, the time they went on vacation to ElkHorn Ranch in Montana, and then decided to purchase a cattle ranch and move the family from Long Island to Gallatin Gateway. Or, going on spring break with the kids to Florida and purchasing a home in Delray Beach, Florida, where they spent winters playing tennis, golf and traveling the world, until Bill passed away.
Glenna’s love for helping others led to her membership of numerous charitable organizations from The Junior League of New York, Ox Ridge Hunt Club in Darien to co-chairing the Bethesda Ball in Delray Beach, Florida, helping Eagle Mount, Bozeman get off the ground and soar, or starting the Dog Ball for Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter in Bozeman. Glenna will always be remembered for her philanthropy, events and what she has done for numerous communities.
She is survived by her three children: daughter, Lee; son, Michael, his wife, Leslie, and their daughter, Emily. Son, Stephen, his wife, Annie, and their three daughters, Olivia, Coco, Jacqueline, and granddaughter, Kylie. And her stepson, William deRham Jr. and his wife, Eugenie.
We loved our mother with all our hearts. She was born on Halloween and always loved throwing Halloween costume parties to celebrate her birthday. Regretfully she was not able to make it to her 85th birthday celebration last year.
This year, in loving memory of our mother, we will celebrate her life with a memorial service and Halloween costume celebration of life. Please join us Sunday, Oct. 30 at 12 noon for her memorial at St. James Episcopal Church and then at 5 p.m. for a Halloween costume celebration of life at Riverside Country Club!
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her memory to one of the charities she supported: Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter in Bozeman, or Eagle Mount, Bozeman.
— an obituary from Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service, where online condolences may be left