William H. Glazener

Aug. 3, 1917 - May 25, 2010

On May 25, 2010, my father, William H. Glazener, slipped his earthly bonds  and went to his final rest, following a mercifully brief hospital stay.   The end came peacefully for him, and both my sister and I were able to be with him during his final days.

He was just shy of his 93rd birthday, and up until just a few weeks before his passing, Dad had always enjoyed great health.  He was still living independently in the same house where we grew up, still driving, doing his own yard work and playing golf in the summer, and shoveling his own driveway in the winter (he lived just outside of Buffalo, NY).  He was also an avid hiker.  Just a few years ago, he had taken a trip out to Oregon to visit friends and do some hiking in the mountains out there.  When he got back, I called him to see how he was doing.  "I'm fine, just a little stiff and sore" was the reply.  When I asked whether that was the result of all that hiking, he said "No, I think it was the kayaking that did it"!   For those interested, here is a link to a letter I wrote to Dad which was read by the minister at his memorial service:  Letter to Dad.

I spent most of the time during those final days in the hospital sitting by his bedside playing dulcimer.  He had lots of "favorite tunes" - practically anything anyone would play for him would become his favorite tune.  But he especially loved the old hymns which he had grown up hearing.  In honor of that, and the fact that his birth date was in August, this month's tab is a 2-part arrangement of "Abide With Me", (Click on this link  to download an mp3 file of the dulcimer arrangement, accompanied by guitar and button accordion, from the "Dulcified" recording.  WARNING: this is a large file!) This hymn was written by Scottish pastor and religious poet, Henry Lyte, in 1847.  Lyte was inspired to write this hymn as he was dying of tuberculosis; he finished it the Sunday he gave his farewell sermon in the parish he served so many years. The next day, he left for Italy in an attempt to regain his health. He didn’t make it, though - he died in Nice, France, three weeks after writing these words:

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

The tune most commonly associated with this hymn is called "Eventide", which was written the English composer and music teacher William Monk in 1861. 

Rest well Dad, and we'll see you in the Morning.

Peace,

--Tull