Glenda Gross

Glenda Gross, 70 , Shields, peacefully went home to Heaven on July 27, 2025, with her loving husband and family alongside her. A celebration of life and time for sharing memories, as well as a few beers, will be held at 2:00 pm CT Saturday, August 2, at the Shields Bar, 3640 82nd St SW, Shields, North Dakota.

Glenda was born on June 13th, 1955, at Mandan hospital to Glen and Arlene Bahm. With her parents, and brothers (Kevin, Lee, Alan, and Kenneth “Bubba”), she grew up along the Cannonball River. The family established their roots in a log cabin on a piece of land where they farmed and tended to dairy cows. Being the only girl amongst her siblings, she certainly knew how to grow up as the strong and resilient woman she was known to be.

Education was an important part of life for Glenda. After graduating from Fort Yates High School in 1973, she ventured out to Wahpeton to start her college journey. She earned her LPN degree and accepted her first job at St. Alexius Hospital as a nurse in Bismarck for a short time; she then began her career working for Indian Health Services. In the summer of 1991, Glenda graduated as a registered nurse from Medcenter One School of Nursing.

Ronald “Ron” Gross, the neighbor boy who had sat by Glenda many times on their grade school bus route, noticed Glenda one summer when she was home from college while working on the family farm. It was clear that Ron knew from the moment he recognized that same spirited brown-haired girl in her bathing suit washing a car, that she was the one. On May 10th, 1975, on a beautiful summer day that upcoming year, Ronald Gross married Glenda. As newlyweds, they moved to the family ranch in Shields, where together they had two loving sons: Toby and Rick. For 50 years of marriage, all of life’s greatest moments were held close to home.

She played an instrumental role in the organization of Community Kicking Cancer (CKC); a passion in which started from her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2010. Glenda made it her responsibility to support others who shared her same struggles, because that is just who she was. Glenda continued to serve as a nurse within Indian Health Services (IHS) providing outpatient care to families in their homes. This was where her caring heart and compassion flourished, and many of us had the privilege to experience just how special she genuinely was.

If you knew Glenda, you would know a camera was within an arm’s length at all times; taking candid photos of her loved ones and all that she encountered was how she preserved those moments in time, allowing us to recount them today. Glenda also delighted in family gatherings, hosting for brandings, attending her grandchildren’s sporting events, and frequenting travel destinations anywhere from Alaska to Mexico.

Glenda is survived by the love of her life Ronald Gross, their two sons Toby (Jade) and Rick; mother Arlene Bahm; brothers Kevin (Wendy) and Lee (Lou), Alan (Joan) Bahm; grandchildren Taye and Asiah Gross; many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

She is preceded in death by her father Glen Bahm; brother Kenneth “Bubba” Bahm, nephews Jeff and Shane Bahm, and Justin Bracken; sister in-law Mary Bahm.

We will never forget the love and compassion that she brought to our lives, the hearts she touched, and memories she preserved. Thank you, Glenda, for loving us all and showing us to never take life too seriously, to always take pictures, and to live life like someone left the gate open.

A special thank you to the neighbors who have come to help both Ron and Glenda during their time away from their home.