GLENNA JEAN FLAKE

Glenna “Jean” Flake passed away early in the morning of March 15, 2026, in Queen Creek, Arizona surrounded by family. Jean was born to Harry Chester Theabold and Lenna Love Theabold in Gallup, New Mexico on July 25, 1935. Jean spent her childhood and school years in Gallup where her parents were in the restaurant business. After high school graduation she attended Brigham Young University where she met a handsome young, returned missionary from Snowflake, Arizona named Rolf Flake. They dated for several months and were married on June 29, 1954. During Rolf and Jean’s early married years they lived in Snowflake and a few other locations before moving to Gilbert in 1965. They raised their six children in Gilbert and have been fixtures in the community during its growth from a sleepy agricultural town to the thriving Phoenix suburb it is today.

Jean’s selected career was to devote her time and talents towards being a full-time wife and mother. She held a few odd jobs occasionally, but her real talent was in the home. She always kept a neat and clean home, was an accomplished cook, a capable seamstress, a listening ear, and an empathetic medic in caring for skinned knees and bruised egos. Jean’s prowess in the kitchen stemmed from working in her parents’ restaurant during her teenage years. Many cherished family recipes she learned from her parents have been handed down to her kids and grandkids. She welcomed family, friends, and even a few strangers into her home where a warm bed and a hot delicious meal were ready to be shared. The “Flake Hotel” on Silver Creek was always open for business.

Jean was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and held many positions of leadership and service during her 90 years. She demonstrated her faith every day by the way she lived and the way she treated others. She gained lifelong friends through her service, most notably in the Relief Society organization of her ward. Jean was willing to do whatever was asked of her even if her own sense of inadequacy made her want to shirk the calling. She was far more capable than she thought herself to be.

Jean had many talents, including a beautiful singing voice. She performed regularly in church choirs and special numbers and spent several seasons singing with the Arizona Mormon Choir. She instilled her love of singing and playing the piano in her children, and music was often heard in the Flake home. Jean regularly sacrificed her own interests to support her husband and family. In her senior years she traveled around the American West with her husband Rolf, attending cowboy poetry gatherings and making new friends wherever they went.

Jean is survived by five children, LaDawn (Jim) Pyles, Kent (Lori Judd) Flake, Reed (Amy Strebeck) Flake, Kirk (Lori Fusselman) Flake, and Kristen (Carl) Bloomfield. Jean is preceded in death by her husband Rolf, daughter Loretta (Pat) Kanavel, and sister June Sheral Patzke. She is also survived by one brother, Harry D. Theabold of Mesa, and six in-law siblings, Nena (Arnold) Foster, Lavona (Jay) Richardson, Leona (Lyn) Kimball, Rey (Margaret) Flake, Garry (Janet) Flake, and Keith (Jodi) Flake, and many nieces and nephews. Rolf and Jean’s posterity includes 27 grandchildren, 66 great grandchildren, and 4 great great grandchildren.

Services for Jean will include a Visitation on Friday, March 20, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Bunker’s Garden Chapel at 33 N. Centennial Way, Mesa, AZ. Funeral services will be Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at the Gilbert Arizona Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 777 E. Elliot Road, Gilbert, AZ. Time before the funeral is reserved for family, but there will be time after the service for visiting. Interment will be at 5:00 p.m. that same day at the Snowflake City Cemetery.

Arrangements by Bunker’s Garden Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.