Glen Ted Southwell

Glen Ted Southwell figured out how to live and managed to do so with joy and enthusiasm despite the challenges he faced. He retired from life on March 12, 2025, at peace.

Glen grew up in Watervliet, NY, the last child of his parents and undoubtedly a great source of pride for them. People who knew him in his first decades largely knew him as Ted, as his mother did; in later chapters of his life, he would use his first name. In all chapters, people found him to be quiet and dignified and also silly and hopeful.

In 1977, he completed his service for the Army National Guard of New York and the Army Reserve after having earned the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal. His time in basic training had brought him south to live and learn with people of different backgrounds, an experience that he would later note was formative in developing his fundamental respect for all people. Completing that service opened his weekends to spend time throwing a football in the backyard with his son and teaching him to shoot a basketball. Eventually, he would teach his daughter to pitch and would go on to coach her to a state championship in softball.

Glen raised two children with his first wife, Barbara, in Watervliet and later Latham, NY. He also served the State of New York, including the New York State Education Department, for decades, a career he later would fondly note included the procurement of the Sesame Street set for the New York State Museum.

Eventually, Glen would remarry and welcome more children as he and his wife, Joanne, merged their families. His 11 grandchildren called him Poppy G and learning about their adventures was even more important to him than going out to lunch or eating dessert, an exceptionally high standard given his allegiance to carbohydrates.

Glen Southwell was generous and kind, so much so that those simple words deserve a place in his obituary as he embodied them.

Glen took the time to show up and to cheer on not only the New York Giants — whom he supported since the 1950s — but also those around him, without hesitation, whether at a graduation or a varsity soccer game or a children’s book signing or a Celtics game in the Garden.

Just after turning 50, Glen learned that his life would become more difficult. His diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease foreshadowed almost a quarter century of serious challenges and yet the last chapters of his life also found him exploring the world. His wife, Joanne, knew about his diagnosis when she married him. The trips they took brought him great joy and satisfaction, as did the times they spent playing golf, enjoying pets, and going out to eat. Joanne brought him to his first Broadway show, Les Misérables, and that would be the first of many. In the last decades of his life, Glen even pursued immortality on film as the lead extra on Hollywood blockbusters such as Iron Man 3 and other television shows and movies.

Glen’s friends meant more to him than he was able to express publicly during his years on this earth. If you had a night of uncontrollable laughter over beers or sat next to him cheering at a game or did a crossword puzzle with him on a break at work, he cared deeply about you and that moment and it later comforted him as he remembered the great times in his life.

Glen Southwell firmly believed that you should not “sweat the small stuff” and should try your best no matter what even in the face of likely defeat.

Glen has a loyal cheering squad remaining in this world, including Joanne Southwell, Brian (and Jessica) Southwell, Becki Southwell Castracane, Stacy (and Brett) McAnulty, and Frank (and Stacey) Havlik, along with grandchildren Gavin, Ellerie, Krys, Michael, Caitlin, Murphie, Cora, Lily, Henry, Paige, and Kara. He was the last of the immediate family with whom he grew up to reach the end of his life, and he loved his nieces, nephews, the spouses of his siblings and their families, his friends, and all the parents of his grandchildren.

Glen’s family will organize a celebration of his life in New York this spring. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Glen Southwell’s name to North Colonie Friends of Music (ncfriendsofmusic.givebacks.com or to North Carolina Friends of Music, Shaker High School, 445 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, NY, 12110) or the Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties (https://bgcdoc.org/location-chapel-hill/). Please plan to spend time with friends and family, preferably with a great story and hours of laughter. He also enjoyed the thought that someday you might turn up the volume in your car and play the Les Misérables soundtrack and think of him.