Donald Glazer
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Don Glazer, lawyer, problem solver, magician, poet, passionate tennis player, father and grandfather died, surrounded by loved ones, on October 25th. He was 80 years young. Throughout his life Don valued friendship, family, and adventure. In the final months of his long struggle with lung cancer and multiple myeloma, he continued to live life to the fullest. This included working tirelessly on the fourth edition of his book Glazer and Fitzgibbon on Legal Opinions, taking his tennis buddies to Wimbledon, playing cornhole with his grandchildren and having “movie nights” with friends.
Even when gravely ill, Don often declared, “I’ve lived a charmed life.” The first grandchild in an immigrant family that fled the Holocaust, Don was doted on by grandparents who celebrated his every achievement: graduation from Dartmouth College, Law Review at Harvard Law School, partner at Ropes and Gray. Later Don partnered on multiple business ventures, served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of mutual funds at Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo, authored, in addition to his Legal Opinions book, Massachusetts Corporation Law & Practice, served as advisory counsel to Goodwin Procter and co-founded a global biotech company, Beigene, that develops life saving cancer treatments.
However, for Don, the “real” achievements were his lifelong friendships, his years coaching his daughters’ soccer teams, his travel adventures, and the creation of a family charitable fund helping save lives around the world. This past year Don took special pride in the publication of Uninvited Guests, a collection of poems that he said simply arrived in his head over many years. The party that celebrated the book launch brought together “the luncheon club” –Don’s buddies from elementary school in Shaker Heights, Ohio, several of his Pi Lam fraternity brothers, the tennis crew, legal colleagues, his barber, his gardener, two ex-wives and more.
Don fell in love with tennis in his 30’s and it remained his passion for the rest of his life. He was elated to be able to have his own tennis court and used it daily, taking great pride to be playing with men decades younger than he was. These heated matches led to warm friendships and when Don became ill, the “tennis guys” dedicated themselves to keeping him on the court as long as possible.
Don was an indefatigable adventurer who loved to travel. He found as much wonder in an afternoon excursion to Quincy as in a trip to the Galapagos or Afghanistan. Although he always enjoyed discovering a new place, Don had a special love for the Caribbean and returned there often. Among his grandchildren’s favorite memories are their island vacations with G-Pa. In 2021 Don found his own special piece of paradise in the Dominican Republic and began spending winters there. His home in Punta Cana became a cherished destination for family, friends and colleagues. Don gave back to the people of the DR in ways large and small. Currently there are five young men attending college in Puerto Rico thanks to “Mr Don.”
Taking Beigene public was a win-win-win experience for Don. An amateur magician, who loved finding creative and practical solutions to problems, Don embraced the challenges of launching Beigene. When all eventually went well and his efforts yielded financial rewards, Don welcomed the opportunity to “do good with good.” Don established the his family charitable fund soon after Beigene’s stock went public and remained on Beigene’s board so that he could better connect local cancer doctors—including his own—with Beigene’s resources.
There were so many people Don cherished in his life. He leaves his two daughters, Elizabeth Levesque (Joe) and Mollie Van Horn (Sawyer) and his five grandchildren: Ryan, Ethan and Jake Levesque and Wiley and Edie Van Horn. Don’s brothers, Neil Glazer (Pamela) and Steve Glazer (Wendi) also survive him as do their children, Kelly, Scott, Michael and Matthew. Don also leaves his former wives, Ellen Glazer, Donna Serino and Jenny Hong, all of whom he remained close with throughout his life. Don also leaves his wonderful caretaker and friend, Rosendo (Rossi) Maravilla and his large and varied extended family of friends, “the luncheon club”, fraternity brothers from Pi Lamda Phi at Dartmouth, his tennis buddies and all the strangers turned life long friends that he met along the adventure that was his long, meaningful and “charmed” life.
Don and his family thank his doctors, Andrew Yee, Justin Gainor, Susan Cheung, Laura Petrillo and are so grateful to Dr. Dan Cahill, who has been so important to the family.
Don will be remembered at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley on October 28th at 10:30 AM with luncheon following at the Temple. Shiva will continue October 29th and 30th from 4:30-7:30 PM at Don’s home in Newton.
Donations in Don’s honor should go to HIAS or a charity that is close to your heart.