Barney G. Glaser

1930 - 2022

Barney G Glaser
February 27, 1930 - January 30, 2022
BARNEY GALLAND GLASER, PhD
1930-2022
Barney Galland Glaser passed away at home in Mill Valley the morning of January 30 with family by his side.
Born in San Francisco on February 27, 1930, to parents Aileen (née Galland) and Walter Glaser, Barney grew up on Lake St. and attended Lowell High School, graduating in 1948. As a boy he enjoyed sailing, swimming, basketball, and chess. After graduating high school, Barney attended Menlo Junior College and completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University where he excelled in Mathematics, Sociology, and Languages, gaining fluency in French. After Stanford, he spent a year studying French literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. He then returned to San Francisco and enlisted in the Army. During basic training, the Army discovered his skill in languages and sent him to be an aide to a French Army Colonel in Strasburg, Germany.
After the Army, Barney enrolled in the doctoral program in Sociology at Columbia University where he studied under Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld. While working on his PhD, he met and married fellow PhD student Constance (Connie) Wilson, and they welcomed their first child, Lila.
When he finished his PhD, he took a position as a Research Sociologist at the University of California San Francisco. Barney and Connie settled in Mill Valley, where Barney and his older brother Walter built a redwood house on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais. Barney and Walter would go on to build two trimaran sailboats and a houseboat. Barney and Connie had their second child, Jillian, in 1962, and their third child, Bonnie, in 1966. The family sailed on the San Francisco Bay every weekend and spent the summers on their boat in the Sacramento River Delta.
At UCSF, Barney collaborated with Anselm Strauss on path breaking research in the sociology of medicine. Together, they studied the process of dying in American hospitals starting with the book "Awareness of Dying," a seminal work in the field. Their approach to the analysis of qualitative data was extremely innovative, so they decided to write a book detailing their methodology. This book, "The Discovery of Grounded Theory," has influenced thousands of researchers. Barney went on to refine "Classic Grounded Theory" in 17 books he wrote and sold through his publishing company Sociology Press. His books provided researchers with the tools to produce grounded theories with data of all kinds. Barney authored over 70 published journal articles and books that have collectively garnered over two hundred and fifty thousand citations, making him one of the most highly cited social scientists of all time. He has mentored hundreds of Ph.D. students around the world. In 1999, Stockholm University awarded Barney an honorary doctorate to recognize his impact on the field of sociology and social research.
While working at UCSF, Barney started a career in real estate. Over the course of many years, he acquired and managed a portfolio of residential properties around the Bay Area. Barney greatly enjoyed providing housing to his tenants and strived to be a responsible and responsive landlord. In 1968, he founded the real estate lending firm Cascade Acceptance Corporation which would go on to finance numerous residential and commercial developments in California and Hawaii. Together with his business partner, Barney took immense pride in providing capital for construction projects. Barney managed many business enterprises without an assistant or a secretary and could often be seen driving to the post office in his little Ford pick-up to sort his mail, wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt. Unfortunately, the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 led Cascade to cease operations in 2010. Barney continued to run his publishing company, Sociology Press, through his final days.
In the late 1970's Barney began living with Susan Hartman, a RN and midwife, and they had a son, Barney (Jr) Hartman-Glaser, in 1980. Barney and Susan discovered the joys of Kauai together and began traveling there frequently with Barney's growing family. Although they separated, Susan remains a close part of the family.
In 1984, Barney met his wife Carolyn Bear Glaser whom he married in 1988. Barney spent the rest of his life with Carolyn, totaling 34 years of loving marriage. They enjoyed traveling together and spending much of their time in Lake Tahoe, Manhattan, and Kauai, where Barney spent his vacation time building homes (mostly with his own hands). Never one to sit still, Barney was an avid snow and water skier, body surfer, and scuba diver. He loved to spend time on the slopes at his favorite ski resort, Alpine Meadows, where he said: "the energy is up," and skied well into his 80s. He was a devoted family man and father, instilling a love of learning in his children and sharing his passion for the outdoors with frequent family trips centered around recreational activities.
Barney is survived by his wife Carolyn Glaser, his children Lila Glaser, Jillian Rhine (Andrew Rhine), Bonnie Glaser, and Barney Hartman-Glaser (Tiffany Shih Hartman-Glaser) and his grandchildren Daniel Rhine, Maya Rhine, Robert Hartman-Glaser, and Audrey Hartman-Glaser. He will be sorely missed. A private memorial was held for him in August.