O.W. Glazener

O. W. Glazener, 99, passed peacefully from this life to eternal life in the early hours of December 5. He was a man devoted to his wife of 72 years, Mary, who died on April 3. Throughout his long life, O. W. sustained his faith, his love of family and country, good health, a wonderful sense of humor and a sound mind. To the very end he was known for his sweet disposition, his powers of recall and his love for storytelling. The first story was simply about his name. "My mother, Olivia, died on the day I was born, and my father, William, chose the initials of their first names for me." He grew up in Rosman, NC, in and around his father's store, the J. W. Glazener Mercantile, where he often raided the candy barrels. "You will never reach the age of 30," his stepmother Bessie told him while he was eating a pound of cheese. Little did she know that on Sunday mornings, he routinely pilfered a freshly fried drumstick as she dressed for church. In 1936, O. W. began 10 years of service in the U.S. Navy. Many of his stories came from that experience. "Japan starts war," he wrote in his pocket diary 75 years ago today, and 15 days later he received orders for Pearl Harbor. "On a cruise ship commissioned by the Navy, we gathered each night on deck under blackout conditions and sang songs to lift our spirits as we sailed toward the unknown." He went on to serve there and in places like China, Okinawa and around the Pacific. When the war ended, he was jubilant. "We partied all night." Now he could finally return home and meet his 18 month-old daughter, Janet Olivia. For O. W. and Mary, that home was Western North Carolina. There they reared three children in the Monte Vista area of Candler. Friday night, known as Family Night, featured good food and memorable stories. When the doors of West Asheville Baptist Church were open, the Glazeners were almost always there. O. W. was a leader in the Royal Ambassadors program, a Sunday School teacher, an usher and a deacon, always a good steward for his church. Janet Roma now lives in Cohasset, Massachusetts, with her husband Gene; Charlie Glazener and wife Patricia live in Fairview; and Joy Glazener resides and works in New York City. O. W. spent his working career as a warehouse manager at T.C. Smith Wholesale Drug Company in Asheville and at American Enka's new plant in Central, SC. He and Mary returned to WNC in 1995. They first lived in Henderson County's Little River community before coming home to Asheville. There they lived out a life of faith, family and friends. Both were regular attendees of First Baptist Church Asheville and members of the Seekers Bible Class. His most recent and special memories include the November 11 Veterans Day Breakfast at the church and two days later the All Souls Service, where Mary's passing was remembered. O. W. is also survived by his two grandchildren, Amy Mathis (Stoney) and Jason Glazener (Chiemi) and five great grandchildren: Jackson, Walker and Ryan Mathis and Kai and Juna Glazener. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 9, in the Chapel of First Baptist Church Asheville, the Reverend David Blackmon presiding. The family will receive friends after the service. A private graveside blessing and commitment will follow at Mount Moriah Calvert Baptist Church in the family plot just down the hill from where O. W. first met Mary nearly eight decades ago. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to CarePartners Hospice, PO Box 25338, Asheville, NC, 28113 or to The Sacred Garden, First Baptist Church Asheville, 5 Oak Street, Asheville, NC, 28801. Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue is assisting the family.