Mr. Glen E. Chesnut's Obituary
“Estuche de Monerias”
Glen Earl Chesnut was born in Amarillo, Texas on March 04, 1930. He died in Alameda, CA on July 06, 2017 of lung disease. In his last weeks he was cared for by Kaiser Hospice. Glen’s father Sam and his mother Ulta Isa, worked on cattle ranches: Sam as a foreman and Ulta as a cook. Glen went to twelve different schools before he got out of high school as his father couldn’t stay in one place too long. Glen loved horses and took a year off from high school to work on the Crofton Ranch in Tehachapi, CA. After a rigorous time working as a cowboy, he decided to return to school and graduate from Tehachapi High. He attended Bakersfield City College and then transferred to Fresno State and earned his B.A. in 1954. He was drafted into the army upon graduating and was stationed in Germany. He didn’t like the army but, did like traveling in Europe where he became a good photographer. Years later his photographs were used by Jonathan Hayes, editor of Over the Transom for the covers of the periodical garnering rave reviews.
While in transit from Europe and aboard a ship he met a merchant seaman from Norway. Glen thought that shipping out 6 months a year and staying home for six months was something he’d like to do. He came to San Francisco. The only union that would take him was the Marine Firemen’s Union. When he finally got his seaman papers he was able to ship out on April 15, 1957. In between shipping out, Glen lived in hotels in North Beach and began to write poems and some prose. In 1964 after hanging out with an artist he began trying to paint. Around the year 1966, he stopped writing and concentrated on painting. In 1970, Glen met Ellen Sarkisian a teacher at Hoover Jr. High and a painter. They married on July 1, 1972. He continued with both writing and painting until two years before he died.
An exceptional artist (self taught) he received the Artists’ Society International 1987 Experts Choice in acrylic painting for “The Archer.” Since moving to Alameda in 2006, Glen was affiliated with the Frank Bette Center. His poetry and prose have appeared in numerous literary magazines. Glen was predeceased in death by his mother & father, brothers, J.T., Kenneth and Charles, and sisters Oliver Rhea and Marge. Glen and Ellen celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on July 01, 2017. He died 5 days later. I cherish our years together. “A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short.” Here is a poem from Glen’s anthology “Of Time and Leaky Faucet” Let’s start dancing again like our ancestors used to do, dance to affect the outcome of human and natural events. It may not make a difference, but think of how much fun we will have.
Glen will be dearly missed by numerous nieces and nephews, his cousin Millard, sister-in-law Ruth and many friends.
In his loving memory, kindly donate to the following organizations: COPD Foundation Inc. – 3300 Ponce do Leon Blvd. Coral Gables, FL 33134 (866) 731 – 2673 or Alzheimer’s Disease Research – 22512 Gateway Center Drive Clarksburg, MD 20871 (301) 948 – 3244
A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at Chapel of the Chimes – 4499 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, Ca 94611. The service will commence at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 28th, 2017 in the Chimes Chapel. There will a be a reception to follow.
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