Louisville Medicine Volume 68, Issue 8 | Page 25

Dr . Glaser was a GLMS member for 61 years .
IN REMEMBRANCE

IN REMEMBRANCE : NICHOLAS GLASER , MD NOV . 30 , 1929-SEPT . 2 , 2020

Dr . Nicholas Glaser was simply known as “ Doc ” to his

family , friends , patients and office staff . He was born to Lawrence and Clemence Glaser on Nov . 30 , 1929 , and he grew up in the Shawnee neighborhood of Louisville . He attended Christ the King Grade School and graduated from Flaget High School in 1947 . His first job was sweeping floors in the family bread store .
After high school , Doc attended veterinary school in Georgia before his acceptance to medical school at the University of Louisville . After medical school , he completed a residency program in pediatrics and married his childhood sweetheart , Ida Marie Craven , in 1954 .
Following residency , Doc established a private pediatric practice in Louisville and cared for sick and well children for over 40 years . He was a familiar face in the hallways of Kosair Children ’ s Hospital making rounds in the pre-hospitalist era of medicine . He served as president of the medical staff and enjoyed teaching students and mentoring residents .
Doc dedicated his life to practicing pediatrics . During his entire marriage , his family could only recall one vacation . At one point , his wife even threatened to put name tags on herself and all six of their children . His office staff recalled that he scheduled an hour with each new patient and thirty minutes with all established patients . His granddaughters remember that there were two phones in Doc ’ s home . There was a phone for the family , and a red phone nicknamed “ Precious ” that Doc used to return calls to his patients and their families in the evenings . Doc called a family with a sick child nightly to check on their child .
Granddaughter Meghan remembers how frightened she was living in another state when her own young son became ill . She stated that Doc simply listened to her fears . He never interrupted or acted impatient . She felt comforted , reassured and blessed to have experienced her grandfather ’ s love , skill and dedication to medicine with her own child . He allayed her apprehension and instilled in her the confidence she needed to care for her infant son .
Granddaughter Mary recounts that practicing pediatrics was never a 9-to-5 job for Doc . He was a guardian angel for all parents with a sick child . At one point , he visited a frightened woman , pregnant with triplets and on bedrest in the hospital , and sat with her for hours . His patients grew up , had children of their own and trusted him to take care of their children .
Doc was a devout Catholic and a parishioner at St . Albert the Great . He not only called on sick patients but also included them in his prayers . He served as a Eucharistic Minister to sick and homebound parishioners . He prayed for his patients and for himself to make the right decisions in caring for them .
Doc lived a well-lived life of service . He practiced medicine on his own terms without the demands , constraints and mountains of paperwork required of today ’ s physicians . He will be greatly missed by his six children , 15 grandchildren , eight great grandchildren and all of his patients . -Wendy Daly , MD
Dr . Glaser was a GLMS member for 61 years .
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