Glenn Curtis Rowland

Glenn Curtis Rowland completed his life journey on December 28, 2025, at age 97. He enjoyed a long, vibrant life and will be missed by his family and friends, who find solace in the understanding that his passing will bring him the comfort and joy of a long-awaited spiritual reunion with those he missed and loved so dearly.

Glenn was born on July 10, 1928, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to loving parents, Texanna Smith Rowland and Oscar Joseph Rowland. As children of the Great Depression, Glenn and his older brother Oscar Gerald “Jerry” learned the importance of hard work, discipline, frugality, and planning carefully for the future. From an early age, Glenn worked alongside his parents and brother in the family grocery store on 7th East in Salt Lake City, where he developed a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility that stayed with him throughout his life. Glenn, like most boys, also found time to get into mischief and enjoy time with friends. One of those friends, Margaret Irvine, would later become his sweetheart and eternal companion. Glenn also cherished memories of rare cross-country trips to Mountain Lake, Virginia, to visit his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Glenn had a happy childhood full of people he loved and first grand adventures.

After graduating from South High School in Salt Lake City, Glenn served a mission to Australia and New Zealand for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During this time, he developed a deep, lasting affection for the region and its people. Upon his return to Utah, Glenn turned his focus toward building a family. He married the love of his life, Margaret Esther Irvine, on August 9, 1950, in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple, for time and all eternity. Together, they built a successful life with their five beautiful children: Brent, Paul, Carol, Terye, and Stephanie. Their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought them their greatest joy. Glenn and Margaret were married for nearly 60 years, until Margaret’s passing on March 8, 2010, which was a profound loss that Glenn carried with him for the remainder of his life. In Margaret’s absence, Glenn strove to honor their shared love and eternal partnership, and their joyful reunion after this life was one of Glenn’s most fervent dreams.

In their early years of marriage, Glenn ran the Rowland family grocery store in Salt Lake City while he and Margaret raised their young family. Eventually, they made the decision to move their family to Provo, Utah, so Glenn could pursue his education at Brigham Young University.

While at BYU, Glenn envisioned and launched a successful career in real estate development, particularly in student housing. Among his most notable accomplishments were the developments of Park Plaza and Campus Plaza in Provo. Campus Plaza became one of Glenn’s greatest sources of pride, and he often delighted in hearing students tell him that their parents had “met each other while living at Campus Plaza.” He truly enjoyed seeing the generational impact of his life’s work in action and was always actively planning ways to perpetuate this legacy into the future.

With his success and growing knowledge of construction, Glenn fulfilled a personal dream of designing and building a mountain retreat for Margaret, with a home modeled loosely on Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn (a building he had long admired and visited many times). Covered Bridge Canyon became a refuge for Glenn and Margaret throughout their retirement as they welcomed family and friends to comfortably gather and enjoy each other's company and outdoor activities for years to come. Glenn was a visionary and never lost hope in his dreams, no matter how lofty they seemed.

Glenn wasn’t only a hard worker; he also had a persistent itch for adventure that added a lot of color to his life and sometimes lent to a sense that he was larger than life. His grandchildren enjoyed his tales of climbing the Great Pyramids of Egypt in the 1940s, or a death-defying flight into a foggy San Francisco Bay in a small plane with his pilot cousin “Smitty,” or the difficult but transformative trek he took across the American plains pulling a handcart as a Mormon Pioneer reenactor. Glenn provided many opportunities for his children and grandchildren to travel together. But one of his most memorable adventures was when Glenn sold the family’s Provo home in 1975 and took Margaret and the kids to New Zealand and the surrounding areas for a year so they could experience firsthand the country and people he had come to love during his missionary service. This adventure proved to be a significant memory for each member of the family.

Glenn was deeply committed to his faith and served diligently in many church callings over the years, including choir director (a personal favorite), mission leader, and bishop. His leadership was marked by a genuine concern for those he served. Throughout his life, he remained devoted to the teachings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and worked to apply Christian principles to his own life. While he knew he was imperfect, Glenn was tenacious in his fight for what he believed was right and good. In his senior years, Glenn especially enjoyed connection with his family, spending meaningful time visiting children and grandchildren while sharing stories, wisdom, and love.

Glenn will be remembered for his charming personality, energetic attitude towards life, his eagerness to help others recognize their potential, his indomitable idealism, his rare gift for transforming vision into reality, and his firm belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He will be missed, but his legacy will live through those whose lives he touched.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Oscar and Texanna Rowland; brother, Oscar “Jerry” Rowland; precious wife, Margaret Esther Irvine; his sons, Brent Rowland (Naidra) and Paul Rowland (Janna); his daughter, Carol Stephens (Jeff); son-in-law, Vince Davis (Terye); grandson, Oscar Rowland and granddaughter, Dacia Rowland.

He is survived by his daughters, Terye Davis and Stephanie Strain (Aaron), along with many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family members, and friends who will forever cherish his memory.

Services to honor Glenn’s life will be held Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 12:00 pm at the Mapleton West Stake Center located at 1342 West 800 South, Mapleton, UT 84664. A viewing will be held that morning prior to the services from 10:00 am-11:30 am. Friends and loved ones are invited to greet the family at this time. Interment will be at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Funeral services provided by Wheeler-Sundberg Funeral Home of Orem.

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For those unable to attend, you may view the Livestream HERE