1929 - 2026
He is survived by his wife, Bethel Mae Long Flanagan Glascock; two sons, Dr. Colin F. Glascock and Thomas D. Glascock; four stepchildren, Cindy Urmston, Laura Walsh, Scott Flanagan, and Kathleen Morgan; eighteen grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Nancy Louise Senior Glascock; his eldest son, Homer H. Glascock III; and his sisters, Patricia Ann Glascock McKee and Virginia F. Glascock Yochum.
Homer grew up in Rensselaer, Missouri in a community that he continued to love and visit all of his life. He attended Big Creek Presbyterian Church, where his Christian faith took deep root and remained central throughout his life. He served as a teacher, deacon, and elder in multiple congregations and was a devoted member of Medway Village Church for more than 30 years.
Homer was valedictorian of the Rensselaer High School Class of 1947, a class of about a dozen students, and went on to attend Hannibal-LaGrange College. After graduating from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1951, he served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Returning to the University of Missouri in 1953, he met his first wife, Nancy, whom he married on June 29, 1958. He earned an O.M. Steward Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Fellowship, and the Eisenstein Award before receiving his PhD in Solid State Physics in 1960.
He joined the Research Laboratory of General Electric in Schenectady, New York, where he spent the next 29 years. There, he and Nancy raised their three sons — all of whom became Eagle Scouts — and together they were awarded lifetime PTA memberships for their community service. Nancy passed away in an automobile accident in 1987. In 1992, Homer married Bethel Mae Long Flanagan, who had been widowed ten years earlier. Upon his retirement in 1994, he moved to her home in Millis, Massachusetts, where they shared more than 33 joyful years together.
During his career Homer published more than 50 technical papers and was granted 37 patents. For his work, he received recognition such as the Albert Einstein Prize and the GOSEM Prize Paper.
Homer’s interests were remarkably wide-ranging — from poetry and opera to space exploration, dinosaurs, reading, and spelunking. He especially loved the outdoors and was an early “46er,” having climbed all 46 Adirondack High Peaks. He was well versed in the scriptures and had committed many passages to memory from a young age.
His greatest delight, which he shared with Bethel, was in their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He loved to share stories with his children and grandchildren about his time growing up on a farm. Homer was, and still is, a wonderful example and role model to all who knew him.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral service on Friday, February 20th at Medway Village Church, 170 Village Street in Medway at 10:00 a.m.
Following the service, Homer’s remains will be transferred to Missouri, where an additional funeral service will be held. He will be laid to rest at Big Creek Cemetery in Rensselaer.
Calling hours will be held Thursday from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Ginley Crowley Funeral Home, 3 Barber Street in Medway (ginleyfuneralhomes.com).
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Big Creek Presbyterian Church, 49515 Big Creek Ln., Hannibal, MO 63401, or to Medway Village Church, 170 Village St., Medway, MA 02053.
