Robert “Bob” Hamilton Glass, 75, passed on July 26 in Estoro after a long illness. He was born on July 5, 1934, in Worcester, Mass., the son of Doris (Hamilton) Glass Witter and Johnson W. Glass.
A longtime auctioneer, for many years he also authored a column in a Connecticut newspaper and had a radio call-in show called Searching the Antique Attic with Bob Glass .
Bob leaves a wife of 51 years, Barbara (Lougee) Glass of Estero, Fla., six children: Gwendolyn (Glass) Carbone of Brooklyn, Conn., Robert H. Glass Jr of Sterling, Conn., Laurelynn (Glass) Martin, Brooklyn, Conn., Jeffrey F. Glass of Bloomington, Minn., Johnson W. Glass of Coon Rapids, Minn., Virginia (Glass) Castle of Kimball, Minn., 16 grandchildren as well as a sister, Betsy (Glass) Engvall of West Boylston, Mass., five nieces, four nephews and many cousins.
He attended Shrewsbury, Mass., public schools and graduated from Worcester (Mass.) Academy, Nichols College, Dudley, Mass., in 1959 and received a bachelor of science degree from Springfield (Mass.) College in 1962 and a master’s degree from University of Connecticut in Storrs in 1966.
Bob was an Eagle scout in Shrewsbury, Mass., a camper and then counselor at YMCA Camp Becket in Becket, Mass. He went on to serve in the US Army at Fort Bragg, N.C., in the 1950s with an honorable discharge in 1955.
Committed to education, he was a teacher and soccer coach at Brooklyn School in Brooklyn, Conn., in the 1960s and was key in the establishment of the gifted program in Connecticut. He also played a key role in the establishment of the singing group The Sands of Time, and established his own summer canoeing camp in Brooklyn.
Glass ran a colonial restaurant in the late 1960s to the early 70s with his wife and family in their Eighteenth Century home in Canterbury, Conn., as well as The Pachaug Country Store in Pachaug, Conn.
In 1968, Glass graduated from Reisch Worldwide College of Auctioneering School in Mason City, Iowa, established an auction company, and opened an auction gallery in Central Village, Conn., called Robert H. Glass and Family Auctioneers, Whiffle Tree Auction Gallery and then Robert H. Glass Auction Gallery. Glass also founded Glass’ Famous Field Auction in Sterling, Conn., in the early 1980s that is now run by his son, Robert H. Glass Jr.
He was a volunteer and then became camp director of Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Conn., in 1990 and 1991. His auctioneering skills helped raise millions of dollars for the camp over the past 20 years. He also volunteered at another of Newman’s established camps at Barretstown in Balleymore Eustace, Ireland.
In the late 1980s, Glass expanded his antique auction business to include charity auction work and traveled throughout New England helping nonprofit organizations raise money for worthy causes. His longest running service for 35 years was with the Federated Church in Sturbridge, Mass. His daughters Gwen and Ginger continue the fundraising auction business today.
He was active in the National Auctioneers Association for 30 years, giving lectures, workshops and attending yearly conventions throughout the United States with his wife and family. He was a member of the NAA Board of Directors from 1981 to 1984, obtained the Certified Auctioneers Institute designation and became president of CAI from 1985 to 1986. In 2000, Glass was inducted into the National Auctioneers Hall of Fame, an award designated to only a select few in the auctioneering profession.
Glass was a member of the Plainfield Rotary, Moosup, Conn., Lodge #113, and the First Congregational Church of Canterbury.
During his winter retirement in Florida, he became an avid horseshoe pitcher, competing in many leagues and tournaments, culminating in winning first place in his class at the State of Florida Championships. During the summers, he also enjoyed fishing, camping, boating and outdoor activities with his children and grandchildren in Oquossoc, Maine, where he and his wife own a second home. The Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Oquossoc will dedicate a fly-tying room in his honor later this year.
A memorial service will be held one day during the first week of August at The First Congregational Church of Canterbury, Route 169. Details were not finalized at presstime and the family asked readers to visit www.roberthglassauctions.com for the announcement of the exact date and time.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Robert H. Glass Memorial Scholarship Fund, 119 Gorman Road, Brooklyn CT 06234 and/or The Hole in the Wall Gang Campership Fund, ( www.holeinthewallgang.org ) 555 Long Wharf Drive, New Haven CT 06511. Cards may be sent to Mrs Robert H. Glass, c/o General Delivery, Sterling CT 06377.
