Glen Legler

Glen Walter Legler was
a master of gab. He had an
easygoing way about him, with
an infectious smile that brought
out the conversation in everyone
he met. He loved to learn about
the people around him, and
everyone who knew Glen had a
personal relationship with him. Many people considered
him to be their second father, and they loved, honored,
and appreciated the guidance and direction he provided.
Growing up in a large close-knit family provided the solid
foundation for the life of love, honesty, integrity, and hard
work that he lived and expected of others.
Glen built a wonderful family with his wife Patti whom
he met in 1974 through his cousin and her best friend in high
school, Janette Reihm. Patti was going to school in Fort
Collins, Colorado, and Glen was teaching math in Denver
Colorado. Patti used any opportunity she could to visit
Janette and Glen, and in 1976 Glen and Patti wed in Craig
Colorado. They then moved to Casper Wyoming to begin
their busy and wonderful life. Soon after they welcomed
their four children: Jason, Brad, Scott, and Stacy. As Glen
got older he became busier; however, no matter how busy
he was, when his children called, he answered. Whether
it was his liberal son Jason calling to argue about politics,
his handy son Brad calling for construction advice, his
perpetually insecure son Scott calling to make sure that he
was doing a good job as a new parent, or his directionally
challenged daughter Stacy calling when she was lost, he
always had the time to talk. The only time he didn't answer
was when he physically couldn't, because his surroundings
were too loud, or because he was crushing 150 yard drives
off the tee box on the golf course. Glen had two hole-inones
in his lifetime.
Beyond his home life, he was intensely involved in
his community. If his service to the community was a
hurricane, his office at Natrona County High School was
the eye. He utilized all of his resources at NCHS, as well
as the countless organizations he was a part of, in any way
he could to ensure that the kids in his community were
being given every opportunity to succeed. He always put
their needs first and helped steer those around him to do the
same. He understood that if a plan took years to implement,
it could negatively impact hundreds of kids' entire athletic
careers. He moved swiftly and with purpose to make sure
that kids got all of the opportunities they deserved.
Glen was a talented man. In what little free time he had
he enjoyed singing barbershop with the Oil City Slickers,
a love he shared with his mother Maxine who sang in her
own barbershop group. He spoke passionately about the
joy of ringing chords with his friends. Food was also a love
of his. When he wasn't working in various volunteer roles
following his retirement, he spent what little time he had
buying cookbooks and performing culinary experiments on
his lovely wife. Despite his absolute love of the state of
Wyoming and his adamant belief that it was the best place
in the world to live, travel agreed with him. He flew to
conferences around the country and made frequent trips
to visit two of his sons in Oregon with Patti. He always
acquired enough shampoo, conditioner, and body wash
from the various hotels that he stayed in to fill all of his
kids' stockings with this rather bizarre stocking stuffer
during the holidays.
Glen was a master at coming up with strange phrases,
often directed at his kids. His most-used "Glenism" was
to take whatever you claimed to be doing and then threaten
to do that action "up the side of your head." For example:
"Dad, we're playing with that!" to which he would promptly
respond, "I'll play with that up the side of your head." This
go-to phrase was used constantly and often lovingly mocked
by his children. He also had special abilities. Sleeping in
front of the blaring TV provided an opportunity for him
to exercise his unique sixth sense. Glen, while sleeping,
was able to detect when one of his children or his wife was
about to grab the controller and change the channel or turn
down the TV and stop them in their tracks.
Following his retirement from NCHS in 2009, Glen
became more active in various organizations across the
state of Wyoming, always with the emphasis firmly on the
needs of kids in the community. Despite the fact that he
had spent 17 years as an AD and 19 years before that as
a teacher, 36 years of his life, dad continued to work in
the community. During his retirement he was also put to
work by his second son Brad doing manual labor on Brad's
house, which he also loved. He was a hard worker in every
way and appreciated that quality when he saw it in others.
He was never afraid to get his hands dirty. Retirement for
him was more of a label than an actual experience. Dad
never quit working.
Glen's life concluded when he collapsed from a heart
arrhythmia while working on preparations for state
basketball a year and a half after his official retirement.
The arrhythmia was likely a symptom of a previous, yet
unknown, heart attack that he had apparently not had the
time to fully experience several months earlier. He was
notoriously tardy and his exodus from this life, which was
likely intended to be from that earlier unnoticed heart attack,
was no exception. He collapsed while he was working, and
he died peacefully with his entire family around him on
March 12, 2011 at 2:55pm, the time the final school bell
would ring at his first teaching job in Lakewood, Colorado.
Glen Walter Legler was born June 25th, 1950 in Cody
Wyoming to Fred and Maxine Legler. He died on March
12th, 2011 at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper Wyoming,
leaving behind his wife Patti. He is survived by his three
sons, Jason, Brad (Ashle), and Scott, his daughter Stacy,
and his grandson Adrian. He also leaves his older brother
Larry (Mary) of Sheridan, older sister Patty Bronnenberg
of Cody, twin brother Fritz (Sue) of Powell, younger sister
Jennet (Pat) Ballinger of Dubois, cousin/honorary sister
Janette Reihm of Cortez, Colorado, brother and sister-inlaw
Jim and Kathy Simpson of Craig CO, and numerous
nieces and nephews as well as the entire community of
Casper Wyoming. He was predeceased by his parents.
A memorial service will be held at Highland Park
Community Church in Casper Wyoming on Thursday,
March 17th at 4pm, and Newcomer Funeral Home will
oversee services. In lieu of flowers please consider
donating to SafeKids of Wyoming c/o Wyoming Medical
Center Foundation, 1233 East 2nd St. Casper, WY 82601
or The Glen Legler Scholarship, c/o Wells Fargo Bank, P.O.
Box 2799, Casper, WY 82601.