Glenn Richard Albert

ALBERT, Glenn Richard, of Williamsburg, Va., devoted brother and uncle, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at age 46. Left to cherish his memory are his loving sister, Patricia A. Albert of Williamsburg, and her husband, William Talley. He was preceded in death by his parents, George R. Albert and Josephine F. Albert of Prince George County. Also left to cherish his memory are his niece, Kelsey Albert of Orange County, Calif.; and nephew, Trevor Albert of Williamsburg and Washington, D.C. He is also survived by his dear aunts, Mrs. Mary Gross of Ohio, Mrs. Rose Ann Albert of Long Beach, Calif., and Dr. Lin Albert Tallman Neal of Newport Beach, Calif.; and an uncle, Mr. Edward Albert of Augusta, Maine. Glenn spent much of his early life as an "Army Brat," living in Italy and around the United States. As a youth, he enjoyed scouting and playing football. He graduated from Prince George High School and Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary with a business degree. He loved fishing, sports, and was an avid ancient coin connoisseur. Although a car accident rendered him a paraplegic at age 21, he remained kind, loving, and always willing to help others. To those who knew him, he had a razor sharp wit and sense of humor, and was always learning new information about the world. He loved puzzles, mind-teasers, and surfing the internet. One of Glenn's legacies is the inspiration he sparked in his niece, Kelsey. Glenn's paraplegia was the source of Kelsey's inspiration to go into stem cell research. Kelsey is currently at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, where she manages a translational research laboratory focusing on cancer stem cells, neural stem cells, chemotherapy, and neuro-regeneration. She hopes that the work she does may someday lead to stem cell therapies for spinal cord injury, brain tumors and other neurological diseases or impairments. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the UCI Stem Cell Research Center. Please contact Shana Bannert, Director of Community Development at (949) 824-8047 or visit: http://stemcell. uci.edu/outreach/giving.cfm. Additionally, please urge your senators and representatives for additional NIH funding of biomedical research and support of stem cell research. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time. Bucktrout Funeral Home of Williamsburg, Virginia will handle the arrangements.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.