Glenn was the son of Paul and Willie Mildred (Glenn) Atchley. He was a 1938 graduate of Olney High School. He and Kathrine Hamilton, the daughter of the late Dr. George B. Hamilton, were married December 26, 1941 in Olney. He attended the University of Oklahoma, receiving his petroleum engineering degree in 1942, where he was a member of the Acacia Fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corp as a flight engineer for both B-17s and B-29s from 1942 to 1945.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman and an Oklahoma Sooner's Fan, missing few home football games from 1946 thru 2008. He was founder of the Olney Rodeo Association in 1948 and served as President for a number of years. He coached Little League in the 1950's, mentoring many young men. He was a member and president of the Hamilton Hospital Board from 1960 to 2009. He was a member of the Olney School Board and served as President in 1961. He was also a member of the Rotary Club and the Olney Chamber of Commerce, serving both boards as an officer and director. He served on the Longhorn Boy Scout Council of Fort Worth and a member of the North Texas Rehabilitation Center Board from 1980 to 1990. He had been a member of the First Baptist Church since 1931 and served in the Junior High Department for 30 years. He received the State of Texas Founder's award for Outstanding Hospital Trustee in 1992. He was named Olney Citizen of the Year in 1995. He and Kathrine received the Olney Pioneer Award in 2009.

He was preceded in death by one son, Glenn H. Atchley, Jr. on August 10, 1997; and one sister, Billie Pauline Moore in 1963.


Survivors at time of death included his wife, Kathrine Atchley of Olney; one son, Dr. Steve Atchley and wife Eileen of Denver, Colorado; two daughters, Glenda Burg of Dallas, Texas and Georgia Atchley of Olney and one sister, Bobbie Jane Gates and husband Griffith of Manhattan, Kansas.