Glenda was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1955, and moved with her family to the small town of Yarrow, BC, in 1962. She grew up as a small town farm girl with big ideas. She graduated from Chilliwack Secondary School in 1973, and moved to Alberta in 1975, where she lived and worked for the next three years. She met her future husband, Rick, in 1979, and they married in 1982. In 1984, the couple had their first son, Kevin in Chilliwack, BC.

In 1984 Glenda became a certified reflexologist. She owned and operated the Sole Connection Reflexology Studio for many years before retiring from the business. Five years after her marriage, Glenda was diagnosed with bone cancer. After a nine month struggle she eventually lost her entire right leg, including her hip and pelvis, to the disease in January, 1988. Despite her disability she gave birth to their second son in November, 1990, less than three years after her amputation.

In March, 2010, Glenda co-authored the auto-biographical book 'Choosing to Smile' with two of her close friends who also happened to have cancer. 'Choosing to Smile' is the attitude Glenda adopted early in her journey through her diagnosis and treatment of cancer. She donated countless volunteer hours in her community and has received numerous awards for her efforts including the Woman of the Year Award for her hometown in 2003, and the prestigious Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in 2005. She has also won many local speaking competitions for humour and inspirational speeches presented through Toastmasters International. Prior to the birth of her second son she won two silver medals in the 1990 BC Winter Games for disabled skiing in the Slalom and Giant Slalom competitions.

Glenda and Rick currently reside in Chilliwack with their son, Andrew. Their oldest son, Kevin, and his wife, Kimberly, live nearby. Glenda spends her free time speaking, traveling, promoting her new book and presenting her unique Smoking Awareness Program for Teens to middle school students.