Adele Glusac

Artist, pianist and family confidant Adele L. Glusac passed away July 10, 2025, roughly

one month shy of her 94th birthday, in Chicago.

Born in 1931 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, Adele Lindgren was the eldest of three

children of Marie and Robert Lindgren, her beloved parents. Adele attended Mackenzie

High School and received her bachelors degree from Wayne State University, both in

Detroit. At Wayne, she was voted Snow Queen and later met Michael M. Glusac, who

she married in 1957.

Michael and Adele were married for 67 years and anyone who knew them will not be

surprised that they passed within six months of each other. They were devoted to each

other and to their three children, Earl, Elaine and Emily.

With tots scurrying beneath her desk, Adele acted as Michael’s legal secretary when he

began his career in law and politics. She later worked as an analyst for Ford Aerospace.

Adele’s true passions were for music, art, wellness and relationships. A lifelong learner,

she studied painting and won awards for her landscape and still life compositions. She

took up yoga in the 1950’s and would drop into poses and stretches during long talks

with her kids, be it about their studies or Fellini films. A classical pianist, she practiced

Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and more and kept notes on her progress in

the scores. She read voraciously and always kept a dictionary handy should she come

across an unfamiliar word.

A friend to all she met, Adele valued listening in conversation. Renowned for her

interpersonal skills, Adele enjoyed meeting new people and old friends alike, giving

them her time and support. Quirky and spontaneous, Adele was known to ride her bike

around Detroit’s Rosedale Park neighborhood with the family dog Pickles in her basket

and organize dinners where guests sat on the floor around a coffee table. Generous, she

would literally give someone the shirt off her back if they admired it.

In addition to her three children, Adele adored their spouses Marie Robert, Dave

Bartusek and Chuck Leavitt. She shared her gift for fun and love of books, movies and

art with three cherished grandchildren, Katie Glusac, Tina Pappalardo and Seth

Bartusek.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Smile Train, a charity she

supported that funds surgeries on children with cleft lips.