John Bradford Glaser
John Bradford Glaser, 33, Olathe, Kansas, died Saturday, May 22, 2010, in the line of duty while attempting a rescue in a structure fire.
John was born October 7, 1976, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Arvon and Patty (Reardon) Glaser. He was a 1995 graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School. John earned his BA degree in 2000 from the University of Kansas, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He was a veteran of the United States Marine Corp.
On June 21, 2004, John began his career as a firefighter with the Shawnee, Kansas Fire Department. He was on the Swift Water Rescue Team and the HazMat Team.
John is survived by his wife, Amber (Plumb) Glaser; son, Brecken Joseph Glaser; daughter, Emma Grace Glaser; father, Arvon Glaser; mother, Patty Glaser, both of Overland Park, Kansas; brother, Michael Joseph Glaser, Los Angeles, California; grandparents, Joseph and Elizabeth Reardon, Wilmington, Delaware; aunts and uncles, Gene and Pat Glaser, Tom Reardon, Bill Reardon, Joan and Donald Stoller and Betty Ann Reardon; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Tim and Kristi Plumb, Lawrence, Kansas; two sisters-in-law and their spouses, Robin and Steve Sowers, St. Louis, Missouri and Renee and Jason Newhall, Georgetown, Indiana; five nieces and many cousins.
Memorial contributions may be made to:
John Glaser Memorial Fund
c/o Bank of America
175 North Clairborne
Olathe, Kansas 66062
Visitation and Funeral Procession and Funeral Service
A visitation will be from 4:00-8:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Avenue, Leawood, Kansas 66224.
A funeral procession will begin at 9:30 a.m., on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at the Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee and will drive past Shawnee Fire Headquarters on 65th Street and Quivira Road and will continue to the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m., Thursday, May 27, 2010, at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
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I did not know Mr. Glaser but as the wife of a retired public servant I wanted to express my deepest sympathy and thanks to his family. My husband was in law enforcement for 35 years and I know first hand that police officers and firemen do not receive the recognition that they deserve, John is truly a great hero and I know that you must be very proud of him. God bless you.
I have been friends with Patty for many years, I worked with her at TWA. I am truely sorry for everyone loss of such a great son, father, husband and friend. What a brave man. I will always be here for you Patty as you were there for me with the loss of my son. I am with you all in my heart. God Bless.
No words are sufficient. Our prayers are with you each.
Our family is sending its thoughts and prayers to the Glaser family. As a widow of a fallen firefighter my heart goes out to the wife and children that are left behind. Please give them the support in the days and weeks ahead as well as those days and weeks into the future. We will continue to keep you in our hearts.
Melissa, Matthew & Ryan Woitalewicz
Family of Capt. Kenny Woitalewicz, LODD 2004-Nebraska
I DIDN’T KNOW JOHN BUT I HAVE LOST A FAMILY MEMBER AND KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE.YOU DON’T EVER GET OVER THE PAIN.FROM WHAT I’VE READ,HE WAS A GREAT HUSBAND,FATHER,FIREMAN AND FRIEND AND I KNOW HE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED.
PLEASE KNOW, MY PRAYERS AND SYMPATHIES GO OUT TO ALL OF YOU!!!
Thank you, Firefighter Glaser, for your service. Our prayers are with your family, as you and they have given the ultimate sacrifice for our safety and well-being.
I want to send my Heart Felt Condolences to the Family of John Glaser, to his friends, and to the Shawnee Fire Department. There is no greater sacrifice then the one FireFighter Glaser made. Thoughts and prayers!!! God Bless you all and help get you through this difficult time. Thanks for your years of Service and the Continuous dedication you provided to your citizens. May you Rest In Peace.
Sincerely,
Aaron Cook FF/EMT-I
Cherryvale Fire-Rescue
Kristi, Tim and family,
We were so sorry to hear of your loss….our thoughts and prayers are with your family at this difficult time.
Even though I did not know John my parents had the honor of meeting him on a couple different occassion’s. My dad was in a wheel chair, and had fallen several times. John was the fireman who responded to the call, and placed my dad back in his wheel chair. To my parents John was there hero. My dad was a vol. fireman, and John would also take a few extra minutes to make sure my dad was ok, and to talk about firefighting. I lost my dad in Nov. 2009. Thanks to John, he always made sure that my dad was ok. John is truely a hero to our family. Our deepest sympathy to your family, and thoughts and prayers are with you all.
I am the mother of a young firefighter in Johnson County, KS. I pray every night for the safety of all firefighters and emergency responders. Glaser family, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. John died a hero and doing what he loved doing…protecting the public. I thank him for sacrificing his life for the safety of others.
Laurie G
My wife and I are deeply sorry for your loss. May you find comfort in this tragic time knowing he was doing what he loved..protecting his community. Our prayers are with you and your whole family. As Joe always tells me “peace be with you”.
Even though we had never had the pleasure of meeting John personally, it is very apparent that he was an outstanding husband, dad, & firefighter and that he was well loved by family, both blood & fire, and all who knew him.You and your family will be n our hearts & prayers in this most difficult time. Remember, you are loved.Warmest regards.
I had the pleasure to teach PALS with John at Children’s Mercy Hospital several times. He really knew the information & was so helping with setting up rooms, teaching how to use the monitors, starting the videos & backing up instructors when necessary. I will miss him when I next teach PALS.
I was online this website for a friend of mine’s brother who passed away and I just received the news via email from an Arkansas relative. (Walt Backus). Somehow, I happened onto this obituary and wanted to send my condolences to let you know how sad I am about his passing. As a widow myself, I understand how his wife and children are feeling…it’s hard to lose a loved one. To his parents, I cannot understand losing a child but hear it is the hardest loss. To all the family & friends of this marine, John Bradford Glaser was the true American Idol and as a Patriot I want to thank God for the true heroes who sacrifice their lives so that we have our freedom.
A true hero, a dedicated husband, unbelievable father, son, brother and friend to all. My ongoing thoughts and prayers go out to the families he was a part of. John~ You have left your wonderful mark on this world and you will be greatly missed. Thank you for your dedication to everything that you did in life and thank you for all the wonderful laughs and memories you have given us. Rest peacefully
Patti and family you are in my thoughts and prayers
While I didn’t know John, I am deeply saddened to read about this and for your loss. From one Marine Corps family to another, our condolences, thoughts, prayers, and hearts go out to his family.
Semper Fi.
I’m so very sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers will be for you and your family.
My thoughts and prayers go out to John, his entire family & to the Shawnee Fire Dept. in this difficult time of loss. What a Hero he was, to put his life on the line for others. God Bless you all!
To the Glaser and Plumb families; I want you to know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. John was a man that all people need to look up to and strive to be like. He will be truly missed by our family. We love you all.
We would like to send our sympathy to the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Fred & Shirley Douglas
I did not know John personally but have some friends that held him very close. I am so sorry for your loss. Your family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers.
We send our condolences to John Glaser’s family and you are in our prayers and we are so sorry for your loss. Our prayers also go
out to all the firefighters who have lost one of their own. Thank you for what you do. We don’t say it enough.God Bless You All.
Words are not adequate to express our sympathy for your loss. I did not know John very well, but had the pleasure of meeting him and talking on a few occasions. He will be remembered as a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice. Our thoughts and prayers are with John’s family and friends and with the Shawnee Fire Department. May God bless you all and bring you comfort in this difficult time.
I’m very sorry to hear about the loss of John. We will all continue to pray for the Glaser & Plumb families through these very difficult times. We miss you John!
My thoughts are with you all.
My deepest sympathies to the friends and family of such a great person, a true hero in an age where that words meaning is often diluted. Many thanks for such a totally selfless and heroic act. Rock Chalk and God Bless!
I did not know Mr. Glaser but my heart, thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Shawnee is a close knit community of wonderful and loving people and even if you did not know Mr. Glaser your heart broke for his family and the city of Shawnee for this devastating loss. May God help all of his family through this terrible time and give them peace in some form. God Bless our fire fighters for everything they do for our city.
Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to you, Amber and all of your and John’s family. We are so sorry for your loss. Please know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers. We love you.
My son is a dispatcher for Johnson County and informed me of this tragedy. Your family has our utmost sympathy and our prayers. To have lost his life doing what he did for his community is most admirable and humbling. He sounds like a wonderful young man.
To the Glaser and Plumb families – Our hearts are broken for you all. John was a beautiful person inside and out, kind, funny, generous; one of the very best. He was an incredible man, husband, father, son, brother and friend. We will miss him so much. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all now and always. We love you!
John, Matthew, and I are heartbroken for all you are having to go thruough. John was a wonderful young man. A friend of our Matthew’s since grade school. We know that he bravely gave his life and was doing what he loved. He is now an angel in all of our lives watching over us. We know he will be an awesome example for his children even in death, as they grow. We are all very proud to have known him!
Blessings in Christ!
Please accept ‘ MY DEEPEST SYMPATHY’ to your family and friends. I’m sure he will rest ‘warmly’ in the hearts of all those he touched. He will bring ‘smiles’ to them for the man he was.
THANKS for all the work he has done for our community. Take care as you are in my thoughts and prayers.
We did not no Mr. Glaser, but having a nephew as a firefighter in Manhattan, my wife, son and I offer our deepest sympathys in this very diffucult time. God bless your family , and being from Shawnee, thank you Mr. Glaser for protecting us!
Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
My thoughts are with all of John’s family and friends.
Rest in Peace, JayhawkFireFighter
To an honorable man, giving himself for his community and family. It was a privilege to observe this service on COR’s livestream facility.
He is with God.
I am so proud to say I worked with him. He is truly a hero and many of us can learn from his courage and dedication. All family and freinds are in my prayers. Be strong and always remember God will never put you through more than what you can bear. Keep God number one in your life it will truly provide you comfort in these days and weeks ahead. God bless you!
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your son-in-law. My prayers are with you, his wife, children and his family during this most difficult time. He was a real American Hero.
John was a wonderful person. I knew him in high school and he was always so nice. He will be missed. My family’s thoughts and prayers go out to the Glaser’s. His parents should be so very proud that they raised such an outstanding man.
My husband Jim and I worked with Patty for TWA at the airport for quite a number of years. My daughters, Kellianne and Shannon and I used to babysit for Brad. He was such a precocious child who grew into such a fine young man.He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Our hearts are breaking for all of you in your loss. We are thinking of you constantly and pray that God will give you strength to help you each and every day .
I’m so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Hi Patty
My deepest condolences on the death of your son, Brad. I can remember so clearly when we had our children play together when they we so little. I was in shock when I read it in the newspaper. I know you are going thru a difficult time right now but I wanted you to know that you and your family are in my prayers. Please if you come back to visit your Mom and Dad, give me a call. I would like to see you.
Again, I will be praying for you and Brad. May God Bless all of you.
My deepest sympathy,
Rosemarie
I watched the entire funeral procession and was moved to tears, Thanks for sharing these special moments with us. John is in God’s hands now. Blessings to your family and all who work with you.
You will be in our thoughts and prayers Steve and Glenna Quist, and our four daughters.
My prayers are with you all. God is good! God is Great!
So sorry for your loss of your son. My prayers and thoughts go out to you and your family at this difficult time. May the precious memories you shared fill your void.
Our condolence to Patty and her family and to John’s wife and children. As long-time residents of Shawnee, this really hit us hard. I worked with Patty for many years at TWA and want her to
know we are sincerely for their loss.
We are sincerely sorry for your loss.
To Fire Fighter Glaser’s family along with members of the Shawnee Fire Department. The men and woman of the Independence Fire Department want you to know our thoughts and prayers are with you all during the time of such great loss. There is no greater sacrifice than one given while trying to save another human life, may God watch over all of you in the time ahead.
Independence Fire Department, Michigan
My parents were both from Kansas and went to KU. My husband Alan and I are both retired volunteer firefighters in Newark, Delaware. Since John has grandparents here we wanted to express our condolences to his Kansas family and the Shawnee Fire Department, and to his grandparents here.
We at Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company have our big 1888 fire bell that we ring each year on Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Sunday in October. The bell will be struck once for each brother or sister firefighter who lost his or her life in the line of duty in this country during the previous year. John’s name will be added to our list and the bell will be struck in his honor in October 2011.
Sincerely, Diane Amberg Silverman
To Amber and the Glaser family, you are in my thoughts and prayers daily. John was a wonderful person and did so much for his country and community. You will never be forgotten and are missed by all. Your kids will grow up knowing what a wonderful person you were and all you did for others. RIP
I met John when he and I took Italian at KU together. John became a good friend and study buddy to me. He was a positive, kind, and funny person.
Giovanni–you will be missed!!
Julia:)
Dear Arv and Patty,
I wanted you to know how shocked and sorry we were to hear about Brad. (He was always Brad to us, that nice little boy.) We were gone when it happened, or would certainly have attended. It is a tragic loss for you and his young family, and I cannot imagine the pain you are going through. Our prayers have been with you since we heard the news.
Elizabeth and Chuck Johnson