Genevieve Alberta Sultenfuss<br/>August 12, 1910 - November 16, 2014

Prominent Glendale realtor and beloved personality Genevieve Alberta Sultenfuss passed away Sunday, November 16, 2014, at the age of 104. She was a special woman who lived life to the fullest.

Genevieve was born August 12, 1910 in Grand Junction, Colorado, to Wymond and Alma (Knoche) Cowden. She spent her early summers on a mountain homestead, where their closest neighbors were coyotes, mountain lions, and bears. She and her two sisters were musical, and gave performances as a piano trio. In 1924, the family moved to Burbank. After graduating from Burbank High School, Genevieve attended Sawyer Business College and became a legal secretary.

In 1931, Genevieve married the love of her life, James Sultenfuss. They built a home in the Glendale Park area and raised two children, Audrey and Julie. They were active in the Grandview Presbyterian Church, where Genevieve sang in the choir and was ordained as an elder. She was also a member of the Burbank Choral Club. Genevieve enjoyed sewing, was active in the PTA, Brownies, and Girl Scouts, and had a business at home typing manuscripts and tax returns. The family also enjoyed fishing, spending weekends in the mountains or surf fishing in Laguna Beach.

In the 1950s, Genevieve earned her broker’s license and opened her own real estate office, Gen Realty, later incorporated as Glendale Properties, Inc. She opened a branch office in Burbank and became the first realtor to belong to more than one multiple association. She was the first woman to be elected president of the Glendale Board of Realtors, as well as the first woman to be elected president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce. She was a vice president of Stevenson-Dilbeck for ten years, and a vice president of CMS Investment and CMS Realtors. Her career in local real estate spanned over 35 years.

Genevieve also served as president of Soroptimist International of Glendale, and received her 50-year membership pin. She was charter president of the Verdugo Hills Business and Professional Women’s Club, was the first woman to become a member of the Verdugo Club, and belonged to numerous other clubs, commissions, advisory and foundation boards, committees, and councils. She was an asset to the community. During her career, Genevieve received many honors, including the News-Press Woman of Achievement Award, the Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Woman, the Board of Realtors’ Realtor of the Year, the Liberty Bell Award, Glendale Business and Professional’s Woman Executive of the Year, and the Verdugo Mental Health Center’s Woman of the Year.

After her husband James died in 1978, Genevieve built a mountain chalet in Green Valley Lake, where she loved to entertain family and friends. She celebrated her 100th birthday in Glendale in 2010 surrounded by well-wishers, and with the help of family members remained in the home she and her husband built until the day she died.

Genevieve was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, James Sultenfuss; her daughter Julie Burroughs Shermer in 2012; her daughter Audrey Carr in 2014; her parents; and her sisters Leonel Heater and Grace Dingman. She is survived by a brother, Willis Cowden; seven grandchildren, Gayle (Bill) Myers, Christopher Burroughs, Jeffrey (Michelle) Carr, Kathy Burroughs, James (Brenda) Burroughs, Susan (David) Witt, and Kimberly Meyer; son-in-law Dewey Burroughs; son-in-law Howard Shermer; son-in-law Gary Carr, Patricia Carr, and grandchildren Donald (Wendee) Carr and Rachel (Tom) Adamski; and 19 great-grandchildren, Ashley, Laurel, Katelyn, Alyson, Justin, Jordan, Madison, Kelsey, Kristen, Zachary, Dalton, Trevor, Jeffrey, Hannah, Alexia, Connor, Shane, Eve, and Bryn.

Cremation has taken place, and a memorial service is planned for Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at the Glendale Presbyterian Church, 125 South Louise Street in Glendale. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in Genevieve’s name be made to Soroptimist International of Glendale, P.O. Box 826, Glendale, California 91209.