Jon Charles Glase

Dr. Jon Charles Glase, formerly of Newfield, NY, passed away on March 6, 2025, in Baltimore, MD, at age 82, after a decade-long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He is survived by his beloved wife, Madelyn Stafford Glase; sons, Robert Stafford Glase (Jen Folker) and Nick Glase (Dana Kash); sisters, Candace (Carl) Schaeffer, Donna Lamanda, Karen (Glase) Dalton, and Sandra (Glase) Barett; and cherished grandchildren, Madelyn Aman Glase, Margot Helen Glase, and Jon Wyeth Glase. He was predeceased by his sister Dorothy Manzella and parents, Dorothy (Graul) and Dominic Manzella, and Charles W 'Bill' Glase.

Jon’s passion for life sciences and ecology led him from Muhlenberg High School in Reading, PA, to Albright College and Cornell University, where he earned a B.A. and Ph.D. in ornithology. He spent over 30 years at Cornell, leading the Introductory Biology lab for science majors and co-founding the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE). He published numerous works, including multiple editions of a study guide for Life: The Science of Biology.

A reserved and thoughtful man, Jon also had a dry, ironic humor and an infectious laugh. A lifelong jazz enthusiast, he played drums from high school and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre. His love of the outdoors was deepened as an Appalachian Mountain Club ‘hutsman’ in New Hampshire’s White Mountains in the 1960s, where he once saved a hiker lost at night. 

Jon lived by a ‘learn by doing’ philosophy, engaging with the world in a deeply physical way through his many passions—beekeeping, cooking, cycling, swimming, cider making, and kayaking. Sailing became a cherished summer activity with his wife, Lynn, and their two sons. In retirement, he and Lynn devoted themselves to bird conservation, monitoring migrating raptors in southern Texas and traveling across the U.S. He also rekindled his love for astronomy, restoring his home observatory and spending winter nights exploring the cosmos—an almost spiritual pursuit that enriched his secular humanist outlook.

Later in life, Jon moved to Vermont to be near Lynn’s family before settling in Baltimore to be close to his son Nick and his youngest grandchildren. Recently he was overjoyed to share smiles and laughs with his grandson, Jon Wyeth Glase, born June 14, 2024, and named in his honor.

A service will be held at Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve, 293 Irish Hill Road, Newfield, NY, on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Parkinson’s Foundation or the National Audubon Society.