Comments on: Fr. Glenn F. Williams, SJ, 1924-2012

By: Gary Smith

Gary Smith — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:45:06 +0000

Like all Psychology majors at JCU, Fr. Williams greatly influenced my fascination with human nature. He was a good man. Walk with God, Fr. Williams.

By: Mary Ann Tady

Mary Ann Tady — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:44:40 +0000

Father was the spiritual director of the society, Our Lady of the Way Secular Institute and its members for more than thirty years. He offered the funeral masses for six members. I had several retreats that closed with my vows. He would play the piano at our parties on Renrock. He played the organ at Gesu and Columbiere too. He was a faithful friend of many, inviting some of us to the St. Ignatius Christmas Concerts by the Cleveland orchestra. What a great blessing he was to all of us. He is now with our members and will be truly missed.
May Fr. Williams rest in Peace.

By: Chris Bugala, SIHS '83

Chris Bugala, SIHS '83 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:44:22 +0000

A.M.D.G. You lived it, Fr. Williams.

By: Diane Clemens

Diane Clemens — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:30:05 +0000

When I was editor of our weekly newspaper, the Gesu News, Fr. Williams was the contributor from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. He sent me lists of the parish honor roll students and any other news items or articles he thought of parish interest. In addition, he served as an assitant editor of sorts, always cheering me on and giving suggestions and sympathy. He was a good friend and mentor.

By: Jim Brown

Jim Brown — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:52:48 +0000

Father Glenn was always affable, positive, and a pleasure to be with over the many years while I was a member of the Detroit Province (1950-77). Our paths crossed many times over those decades, and his mellow presence radiated to all who had the good fortune to meet and know him.

By: john mannen

john mannen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:46:22 +0000

I have known Fr.Glenn for almost 50 yrs. He was a great friend of the family and a great example of what it meant to be a Jesuit.I am so glad I had a chance to visit him before he died.I will miss his Christmas letter to our family. I am happy he is home in heaven.

By: Janet Kody

Janet Kody — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:22:48 +0000

Once, in a homily on All Saints Day, Fr. Williams proclaimed we are all saints. Those simple but bold words settled into a safe place in my soul and have grown and grown. Indeed, Fr. Glenn…..we all are saints…….remembering your glowing presence with love.

By: Shirley Branyi

Shirley Branyi — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:36:18 +0000

I will always remember and love Father Williams, S.J. During my tenure (1990-2003) at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, I served as editor of the Saint Ignatius Quarterly. Father Williams served on the editorial board and proofread the quarterly for me. He was a wealth of information and willing to share it. Whenever he found an “error” or something that could be said in more than one way, he wrote me a note, carefully explaining the variations. I always appreciated and enjoyed his notes. I kept them as a reference. He was always the teacher and in ever so gentle a way. It was difficult to control magazine deadlines because of input from many sources. That meant I often had to run to him at the last minute for proofreading. He never let me down, and the Quarterly always came out on time. He was an extraordinary man, a joy to know, and I will always cherish our professional association. My husband, Les, and I both enjoyed his Christmas letters; we will miss Father Williams and his letters.

By: Ardythe and Charles Getts, Willowick, Ohio

Ardythe and Charles Getts, Willowick, Ohio — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:26:06 +0000

We met Father Glenn Williams over thirty years ago at Western Reserve Nursing Home in Kirtland, Ohio. His mother and my mother were both patients there, and he said mass every Sunday at the home. We attended that mass to visit my mother and my daughter, Gayle, played her flute for the mass as well. Sadly, my mother passed away, as did Mrs. Williams. Yet, Father Williams and I managed to keep in touch all these years. While he worked at St. Ignatius, then lived at Columbine Center, we wrote letters to each other several times a month. I always looked forward to receiving his neatly typed letters and felt he was one of my spiritual guides. He always had such profound advise for my problems and prayed for my family. We shall miss him very much, but know he is in heaven with God and his mother. At last he is free from his wheel chair and oxygen tank.

By: Joan and Chic Lauer

Joan and Chic Lauer — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:37:56 +0000

Our sympathies to the Jesuit Community in the loss of our dear Fr. Glenn Willliams. He was one of a kind and will be missed by all. Whenever we needed a pick-me-up we would re-read one of his cheerful letters which we always saved for a time when we felt we could use a boost. Although he was on oxygen 24/7 and in a wheel chair he never complained but was thankful for the small tasks that he could still accomplish at Columbierre and be useful to his community. One of our most fond memories we have of him is when he was at Gesu as a pastor and would take the altar boys on his first Friday trips to visit the sick and bring communion. Many of the boys had grandmothers who were homebound and it was a way for them to have a little visit, as our son, Jimmy, did with my mother who lived at Fairmount Circle Apartments. That was the kind of a priest he was. Always thinking of others both young and old. What a blessing to have known him. Now we will pray to him and not as much for him as he is certainly with his maker whom he loved so much.
Peace and God bless,
Joan and Chic Lauer