Glasrud, Patricia W.

Aug 7, 1944 - Feb 19, 2015

Preceded in death by husband, Robert W. Glasrud; parents, Burdette and Mariel Wallace; sister, Mary Wallace. Survived by daughter, Nicole G. Haydon (Phil); son, Matthew R. Glasrud (Melanie); 4 grandchildren; Alexandra, Joseph, Samuel, and Abigail; sisters, Barb Blaszak (Al) and Wendy Wiedenman; brothers, Ron Wallace (Kathy) and Scott Wallace (Tina).

SERVICES Friday, March 6th at 1pm at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific St. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be directed by the family.

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Teacher Patricia “Patti” Glasrud was never afraid to try new things, especially if they involved family and friends.

She rode a zip line in Costa Rica, loved skiing in Colorado and was an avid snorkeling fan. She relished trips to Paradise Cove in the Bahamas, said daughter Nicole Haydon of Shelby, North Carolina.

In fact, Glasrud loved those underwater adventures so much that she persuaded doctors to give her time off from chemotherapy and radiation last December so she could snorkel in the Caribbean with her family.

Glasrud learned she had lung cancer in June 2014, about a month after she ended her 49-year teaching career. She had been snorkeling every day on vacation the week before the diagnosis.

The 70-year-old native of Aberdeen, South Dakota, died Thursday at Methodist Hospital.

Glasrud taught kindergarten and elementary grades in the Westside Community Schools, spending time at the district’s early-childhood center and at Swanson and Prairie Lane Elementary Schools. When she retired from that district, she taught English as a Second Language classes for the Omaha Public Schools.

She started her career in Minot, North Dakota, after graduating from South Dakota State University in Brookings. She also had a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“She was the ultimate teacher,” Haydon said. “Everything was a learning opportunity, no matter what she was doing.”

Glasrud’s work as the area director for the People to People student ambassador program gave her the chance to reach hundreds of youths. The program is a travel service for middle and high school students, educators and others. She got involved with the organization in the mid-1980s and traveled every summer after that. Her daughter said she took kids on more than 30 trips.

“She impacted thousands of people through that. She was like a pebble you throw out to a still lake and watch the ripples,” Haydon said.