Nancy Bayard Glaser

Nancy Bayard Glaser was born April 26, 1942 in Massachusetts to Miriam and Leon Bayard. The third child - and only daughter - Nancy (known to many as "Nan") grew up in Newton and spent her summers at Queen Lake Camp and Gloucester. Her dream of being a museum curator sadly did not come to pass, after her parents dictated a more “suitable” career for a woman of that time. With degrees from Simmons College and Tufts University, she became a teacher. Her mother, however, was still disappointed that she was not married!

As she shared with her family toward the end of her days, she felt her life actually began when she married Jerome Glaser in 1968. They were married for 54 years. Daughter Amy followed in 1969, then a move to New Jersey where Julie was born in 1972, and finally a move to Los Angeles, where Richard was born in 1974.

Nancy was a lifelong educator, following in her mother’s footsteps. She started as a second grade teacher, then became a substitute teacher, a math tutor and prepped students for the teacher’s exam. She was passionate about education for all learners, exposure to interesting experiences, and grammar.

Her entrepreneurial spirit was sparked even more after meeting Susan Van Trees in the MBA program at Loyola Marymount in the 1980s. Susan was a real estate investor and encouraged Nancy to do the same. They bought a building together in Pico Robertson, then her first residential property in 1989, in Venice, California. One block from the beach, it fulfilled her love of the ocean. Through the next 20 years, Nancy and Jerry bought several more residential properties; Nancy had great joy from fixing up and renting them out.

Family was Nancy’s biggest focus. Her three children married and had a total of eight children, Miriam, Basya, Faigy, Moshe, Shlomo, David, Mira, and Naomi. Nancy was also alive to see two great-grandchildren, Ezzy and Meir.

Nancy faced multiple challenges in her life; one of the biggest was her MS diagnosis which she lived with for 30 years. As many have shared with the family, she never saw herself as "sick" or limited; her optimism and positivity was an inspiration to many, including members of the UCLA MS group she attended weekly for years.

Although the last few months of her life were grueling for her and the family (as the cancer overtook her body), it was an opportunity for her to share her gratitude and love for her husband, children, and her life. Jerry, Amy, Richard, and Julie spent hours in the nursing facility and hospital, feeding her, rubbing her feet, talking and reminiscing. The night before she came home, Richard, Julie and Nan celebrated the first night of Passover in her hospital room. She had a big smile on her face.

She died at home, and said she had "no regrets."