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William E. Glenn

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Georgia Tech University of California| Berkeley

William Glenn Obituary

With great sadness and heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Dr William E. Glenn. He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Jeanne McGuire-Glenn, his sons, Doug & Ross, grandchildren Vaughn, Bonnie, & John, and great grandchildren, Alden & Carrigan. He was born 1926 in Atlanta, GA. During WWII, he joined the Navy V-12 program and graduated at age 20 with a BEE from Georgia Tech and a naval officer commission. His Naval career included command of an NCI(L) with over 300 officers and extensive work in radiology, highlighted by charge of the instrumentation for the Bikini Research Expedition. He then joined the laboratory of Dr Glenn Seaborg, Nobel laureate for the discovery of Plutonium, at UC Berkeley. There he received his PhD in 1952, also mentored by Nobel laureates Luis Alvarez and Enrico Fermi. Dr Glenn went on to work at the GE Research Lab, producing an HD system with a camera, recorder, and display by 1960. While there he also invented and built Talaria, a large screen projector that became a commercial project for 26 years. Subsequently he became VP and Director of Research for CBS Laboratory (a 700 man lab). He was a Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus at FAU. During his career, he obtained 138 U.S. patents, over half of which were commercialized. They were in the areas of audio, 3D video, medical ultrasound, HDTV, and super HD cameras and displays. His favorite recreation was sailing his 41' sailboat and listening to pipe organ music. He installed a 2000 pipe organ in his house. He also enjoyed visits to the 200 acre family home in GA. Service will be held July 24th at 11 am - First Presb. Church, Pompano Beach

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Published by Sun-Sentinel on Jul. 17, 2013.

Memories and Condolences
for William Glenn

15 Entries

Sheila Glenn

July 14, 2025

You made the world such a better place with your many inventions in the field of medical and television technology. You were a loving father to Doug and Ross and loving grandfather to your grandchildren Bonnie, Vaughn, and Topher and great grandchildren Alden, Carrigan, and Isla(who was born in 2023) . You live on in the many people who benefitted from your inventions and will always be loved and remembered.

Reimund Gerhard (Berlin, Germany)

March 14, 2023

I met Bill Glenn when I worked at the Heinrich-Hertz Institute in Berlin where he collaborated with our team (led by Gerhard Mahler) on light-valve projection displays. Dr. Glenn invited me to his lab in Florida and I enjoyed his great hospitality and friendship. Later I became an applied-physics professor at the newly established University of Potsdam in former East Germany. I will always fondly remember Bill Glenn as one of my most important mentors and senior colleagues. May he rest in peace

Bill behind his boat tiller with friends

Doug Glenn

July 15, 2014

Bill playing a guitar

Doug Glenn

July 15, 2014

Bill hoisting a bottle of Click beer

Doug Glenn

July 15, 2014

Memorial Poem written by Topher Glenn

Doug Glenn

July 15, 2014

Doug Glenn

July 12, 2014

My dad was 26 years old when I was born and I was 26 years also when my first son was born. I've always been trying to follow in his footsteps but unfortunately this is much too hard a task for just about anybody !!

My dad was always a great story teller. He always told us a great bedtime story ...
I helped my dad as he built a catamaran sailboat in the basement of his house in Schenectady out of Styrofoam hulls enclosed with plywood and glass-cloth glued down with hand-mixed epoxy ...
My dad built both a pond for swimming, fishing and ice skating ...
The underground bomb shelter built during the cold war period ...
The redwood A-frame house that he designed and built from scratch at the end of a dead-end road in Scotia, NY ...

Whenever he went to the Bahamas he always looked for where they had Bahama bread, which he loved so much. He also loved spicy foods and loved to make up breakfast omelets that were km. spiced up with both Matooks and halapeno peppers. He also loved Click bear, fine wines and Cracked Conch in the Bahamas, along with classical music being played on his on-board music system. (His favorite place in the Bahamas to get cracked conch was Treasure Cay)

On January 13th, 1973 I was in a bad car accident while on christmas vacation from my junior year at Cornell. After being in a state of a Coma for 10 days I had total amnesia and could not even recognize my mother or father after they came to meet me when I regained consciousness. I took a full year leave of absence from Cornell in order to be recovered enough to continue schooling. I eventually was able to graduate from Cornell with a BSEE but it was very difficult (lots of all-nighters) and hard on my dad for him to realize the losses that had occurred with me. After graduating it was an awful time to be job hunting so I spent 10 days working from dawn till dusk in the autumn in Connecticut painting my car with the Macintosh Clan Plaid pattern using 3 garbage cans full of masking tape (lots of touch-ups needed!). About 2 weeks after I finished doing this my dad needed to borrow my car to run an errand on an evening with the 1st freezing rain of the season. He had a flat tire on the top of a steep hill and my newly painted car skidded and crashed into a tree and was totaled! A few months after this incident we then moved to Florida. Both of our lives changed drastically after that with him starting a long new career with directing university research and me eventually starting off with my 1st job up north with RCA in New Jersey.

Rebecca Castellano

August 29, 2013

We had the pleasure of knowing Bill Glenn through Gulfstream Sailing Club. He was a great sportsman, competitor and a gentleman both on and off the water. Many GSC members have fond memories and photos of Bill behind the wheel on Talaria I & II. Our heartfelt sympathies to the Glenn family in this time of loss.

Francis McAfee

July 25, 2013

I knew Dr Glenn from sharing office and research space on the top floor of FAUs downtown campus for time. It was honor to talk shop with him in those days. He was very approachable and engaging in spite of his vast awards and accolades. I will always be grateful for the knowledge he shared along with friendly advice.

Sheila Glenn

July 23, 2013

Jeannie,
I have been blessed to know Bill since 1984 when I dated and later married his son Doug (soon to be 28 years).
Bill was a paradox. A unique blend of genius and humanity.
I remember fondly Bill's sense of humor. He made the comparison of dressing a toddler to that of threading a sewing machine when it was on ..and then would chuckle softly at his own joke.
He was very soft spoken and never rose his voice and you would draw you into his stories and philosophies.He was captivating.
He loved so many things- his family, his travels, classical music especially Baroque....and the great joy he had when he sailed.
He had incredible patience and tenacity which combined with his genius and vision led to breakthrough inventions that have advanced medical science. Ultrasound technologies have aided in earlier detection and thus prevention of diseases that were debilitating in the past.I have been the beneficiary of these wonderful technologies along with millions of people all over the world.
Because of his vision and gifts the world is a better place. He will be missed.

Lillian D. Champion

July 19, 2013

I feel honored to have known Bill, his parents and his family.
Their family farm, near Pine Mountain, GA, was across the road from ours and we looked forward to their visits. I featured Bill in stories I wrote for area newspapers and Sunday Magazines. He gave me a list of his more than 130 patents for his inventions
My condolences to his family.

Lillian D Champion

July 19, 2013

Jeanne and family,
I have known the Glenns for more than 70 years since their family farm was across the road from ours in the Salem Community of Pine Mountain, GA. I vividly remember how proud Bill's father and mother were of their son and his many accomplishments. Bill always came by to visit us even after I became a resident of a Personal Care Home in Pine Mountain. He sent me a list of his more than 130 patents. I feel honored that my family got to know him, his parents and his family.
My condolences to you and your family.

July 17, 2013

Dear Jeannie and other family members, What extraordinary achievements Bill packed into his life. Did not know about the work on the Bikini Research expedition and his mentoring by Fermi. Just an amazing man. Deeply saddened by his passing. Was honored to have known him. Teresa Oster

Brenda Astor

July 17, 2013

Dear Jeanne. Teresa has sent this notice to me and I am taking the opportunity to express my condolences to you and your family over the loss of this amazingly gifted man...........

Don Amicucci

July 17, 2013

Dear Jeanne,
Bill, a brilliant and gentle soul, is no longer plagued by the pains of the flesh. His spirit remains.
My condolences to you and family at this sad time. I wish you well.

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