Russell Glover Obituary

GLOVER, William Russell, husband, father, friend, and philanthropist, died Aug 27, 2015 after a short acquiescence to lung cancer. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Diane, and his 2 children, Jason (Michelle) and Chad (Sarah), and his 5 grandchildren (Michael, Shane, Jackson, Brooks, Eleanor).

He loved his wife, and they loved to do new things together. Just last year, they completed a checklist of 39 “new experiences”, to celebrate their 39th anniversary. They celebrated their 40th with a 3 week river cruise in Europe.

He was a father, a grandfather, and father figure to so many. Before you knew it, he had folded you into that kind of relationship; he challenged your thought process, he taught but made you do the work, and he pushed and prodded you to try new things. And even past the age where our personalities are usually set in stone, he pushed those same things for himself. He became a world traveler, a philanthropist, and a hobbyist woodworker, all after turning 60!

He was incredibly generous with his time, his money, and his heart. He just said yes to everything; where did he find the energy? He wasn’t always nice, and he wasn’t always perfect, but he sure could apologize right: I’m sorry, I did that wrong, let’s try again. He despised the weasel apologies we all hear today. His entire career was in sales, and he was made for it. Amongst his many witticisms, was his belief that, “No is just the beginning of negotiation.”

He was first diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis about 13 years ago, and he met this terminal diagnosis poorly. It wasn’t the stoic acceptance one aspires to: he was ticked off, and made sure everyone around him knew it. In spite of his original reaction, and perhaps because of it, he pushed hard to increase his time left, ultimately getting a lung transplant 9 years ago. With his new lease on life, he strove to fill the information and treatment gap he saw for all lung disease patients, by founding the Breath Matters charity. Breath Matters provides education, therapy, and fellowship for local lung disease sufferers.

He spent his final weeks tying up loose ends, but still bemoaning all the projects he had left unfinished. Any life lived so fully should leave some things undone, or else we are not really living at all.

A visitation will take place at the Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service, 6500 Iron Bridge Rd. (Rt. 10) on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 from 4-7pm, followed, where a memorial service on Thursday at 2:00pm. The family requests visitors to bring a brief memory or story of Russell to leave for a family memoir. Russell believed so strongly that Breath Matters truly helped people; please forgo the flowers and contribute to his legacy at www.breathmatters.org. He would insist!

Archival Information:

Visitation

Wednesday, September 2, 2015 from 4-7 pm

Memorial Service

Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 2:00pm

Both at Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service

6500 Iron Bridge Rd. Richmond, VA 23234

Directions:

From Chippenham Pkwy (150)

Exit onto VA-10 E/Iron Bridge Rd toward Chesterfield - 1.9 miles on right

Off 288 Exit VA-10 W/Iron Bridge Rd – 2.8 miles on Left