William Donald Glauz

William Donald Glauz passed away peacefully on September 29, 2025. Bill was born on October 26, 1933 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Eleanor and H. Donald Glauz. He graduated from Grand Rapids South High School, then attended Grand Rapids Junior College and Michigan State University, receiving a B.S. in Engineering in 1956. In 1956 he also married Barbara Ball, whom he had known since grade school.

They moved to West Lafayette, Indiana where he attended graduate school and taught at Purdue University. In 1963, after receiving MS and PhD degrees in Engineering Science, they moved their young family to Kansas City, Missouri, where Bill began work at Midwest Research Institute. Bill spent his career at MRI doing engineering research until he retired in 1998, but continued in a consultant capacity for several more years. While at MRI he held many positions, including Director of Engineering, and was elected to their Council of Principal Scientists. His work involved collaboration with NASA in the 1960’s space program and later with transportation safety research. He wrote or co-authored over 80 published reports and technical papers on a variety of engineering subjects.

He became a member of the Transportation Research Board, an international professional organization that is a branch of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, served on a number of committees, and was a committee chair for several years and recognized for his Distinguished Service.

Bill took on a number of volunteer roles in the Kansas City community. He was active in the Red Bridge Branch of the YMCA, where he was Chief of the Y-Indian Guides, and later the president of the branch Board of Directors. Having achieved Eagle Scout in his youth, he became active with his sons in the Boy Scouts, becoming Scoutmaster and a member of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. He and his family have been active members of the John Knox Presbyterian Kirk for nearly 60 years. Bill became a ruling elder and enjoyed singing tenor in the church choir. With his engineering background and love of music, he was asked to chair the church committee that oversaw, and assisted with, the rebuilding and installation of a pipe organ in the sanctuary. After retirement Bill and Barb moved to a new home in Leawood, Kansas, and he became a board member and officer of the Leawood Falls Homeowners Association.

Bill and his family were avid travelers. Every year, they went back to the Glauz summer cottage next to Lake Michigan in Glen Arbor, a property that has been in the Glauz family for over 100 years. They did a lot of camping in the national parks in the west, including many visits to Rocky Mountain National Park. Bill and Barb toured parts of Europe a number of times, especially in conjunction with his work or with genealogy research, where they tracked down and established communications with distant Glauz relatives, as well as tracing his ancestry back to the Mayflower.

He was an enthusiastic runner and raced competitively in his age group at distances up to and including many marathons for over 20 years. Bill ran the Boston and Pikes Peak marathons, among others. His personal best was 2:56 at the age of 47. Simultaneously, he became involved in managing and directing the road races, became a board member and president of the Mid-America Running Association, and won the Road Runners Clubs of America National Scott Hamilton Award as the outstanding club president. During his last 20 years of road race involvement, he managed the computerized scoring of races, including the Hospital Hill Run and the Kansas City Marathon. He became a member of the Road Running Technical Council of the USA Track and Field association and served for many years as the regional (Kansas and Missouri) road course certifier.

Bill is survived by his wife of 69 years, Barb; his children and their spouses, Bill and Gayle Glauz, Bob and Susan Glauz, Becky and Alan Mulcahy, and Beth and Rich McKown; his grandchildren, Leland Glauz, Rob Glauz, Trevor Glauz, Craig Mulcahy, Tyler Mulcahy, Rachel Mulcahy, Courtney McKown, and Jake McKown; his sister Cicely McRae; and many nieces and nephews. Part of his legacy to his children and grandchildren is the beach house he built in Glen Arbor, Michigan in 2008, for many generations of the Glauz family to enjoy.

A memorial service will be held at John Knox Presbyterian Church on November 8 at 1 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to John Knox Presbyterian Church (https://johnknoxkirk.org/give) or the Alzheimer’s Association (https://alz.org/donate) in Bill Glauz’s name.