Glenda V. Witting-Ayerst

Glenda V. Witting-Ayerst, born March 24, 1937, to Ruth (Ritter) Culp and Glen Culp, was a woman whose greatest joy in life was her family. The sixth of eight children, Glenda grew up on Detroit’s east side, where she learned early the importance of family, hard work, loyalty, and love. Those values stayed with her throughout her entire life. At a young age, Glenda met Norman Witting, who had returned home from active duty in Korea. They married in 1955 and began building the family that would become the center of Glenda’s world. Together they raised four children: Deborah (Michael) Ayerst, Christopher (Angie) Witting, Marian (the late Jeffrey) Hamel, and Patricia (Eric) Campbell. Being a mother was one of Glenda’s greatest joys. She was their biggest cheerleader, their greatest supporter, and the person they could always count on. She was the mother who would sit beside her children and help them study and encourage them to believe they could do anything they set their minds to. She was an incredible cook, a devoted homemaker, and the person who made holidays feel special simply because everyone was together. Life brought Glenda great joy, but also profound heartbreak. Much too early in life, she lost her first love, Norman, to illness. Through that loss, she showed the strength and resilience that defined her. She continued to love, nurture, and hold her family together and continued to care for Norm’s mother Gladys whom she loved beyond words. In 1986, Glenda found happiness again when she married Wilfred Ayerst. Together they built a home in Washington Township, Michigan, where they shared many wonderful years until his passing in 2025. But perhaps Glenda’s proudest titles of all were Grandma and Gigi. She absolutely adored her grandchildren: Jackie (Tom), Nicole (Scott), Kimberly (Alan), Sarah (Roger), Daniel (Janelle), Jennifer, Adam (Danielle), Scott, and Megan (Steven). And then came her great-grandchildren—Andrew, Ryleigh, Matthew, Ashlyn, Allison, Emily, Brandon, Tommy, Will, Lorelai, Lucas, Henry, Leighton, and Brooks—who lovingly called her Gigi. She was a source of unconditional love, comfort, encouragement, laughter, and wisdom. She was the person who celebrated them with always handmade birthday and Christmas cards that were just right, worried about them, prayed for them, and took tremendous pride in every one of them. She loved hearing about their lives and watching them grow, and there was nothing that made her happier than having her family close. Glenda enjoyed watching the news and sports, Hallmark movies, good meals, working in her yard, spending time with neighbors and friends, and keeping up with all her nieces and nephews, whom she loved dearly. She was genuinely interested in the people around her and always made time for those she loved. Above all else, Glenda loved her family and she loved her Lord. Her faith and her love for those around her were woven into everything she did. Glenda leaves behind a family who will miss her more than words can express. Her family invites all who knew and loved Glenda to join them in celebrating her life and commending her soul to her heavenly home on Friday, September 4, 2026, at St. John the Evangelist Church, 883 Capac Road, Allenton, Michigan. Glenda will lie in state at 9:30 a.m., with the funeral Mass beginning at 10:00 a.m. A procession will follow to Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township, followed by a luncheon celebrating Glenda’s life and the many memories she leaves behind. She was the heart of her family, the proudest Gigi, and a woman who loved deeply and completely. She will be missed every day, carried in their hearts forever, and loved for generations to come. Please share memories with the family at their "On - Line Guestbook" at WujekCalcaterra.com.

Glenda V. Witting-Ayerst

March 24, 1937 - August 31, 2026