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Mrs. Delores Ruth Glienke (Otto), 93, previously of Miami Springs, Fla., entered her eternal rest at her residence in Flowery Branch, Ga., on April 21, 2025.
Delores, the oldest of three daughters, was born on Sept. 1, 1931, to Albert and Hazel Otto in Alta. She was baptized on Sept. 20, 1931, and confirmed on March 25, 1945. For elementary school, she attended St. John’s Lutheran School in Hanover. Delores graduated from Alta High School in 1949.
Delores Otto married Rev. Herman Glienke on June 15, 1952, at St. John Lutheran Church, Hanover. On Sept. 1, 1952, the couple arrived in Havana, Cuba, via the P&O Steamship Company. Delores supported her husband as they ministered to Spanish, German and English-speaking congregants. In 1955, the family moved to the Isle of Pines, Cuba, to fill a vacancy at a flourishing English-speaking congregation. They also served a neighboring congregation on the south coast of the Isle of Pines, as well as helping build a church and establish Spanish-speaking services in Nueva Gerona.
Towards the end of 1960, during a period of social unrest following the Cuban revolution, Delores and the three children left the island to live in Miami. The family was reunited in January 1961. They filled a vacancy at St. Paul Lutheran Church in South Miami for a few months, followed by nine years in Key West. They returned to the Miami area in 1970 to continue their work in Spanish and English. Delores devoted 20 years of service to the JFK Library in Hialeah and was a constant supporter of her husband’s ministry. Beginning in 1982, she spearheaded a group of volunteers to prepare for the Faith Lutheran Library, where she volunteered as librarian each week from 1984-1991. Her passions were her faith, her family and friends, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and the libraries.
Delores Glienke is survived by her children: daughters Ruth Wessling and Gloria Martinez; son and daughter-in-law, David and Sandra Glienke; eight grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband Herman Glienke; son-in-laws, Mark Wessling and Carlos Martinez; and her sister Mary Fellows.
Memorials may be made to the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League online at https://www.lwml.org/giving-plans or Lutheran Women In Mission, 801 Seminary Place, Suite L010, St. Louis, MO 63105
