John David Glismann

Dr. John David Glismann, MD, of Las Vegas, NV passed away May 4, 2019 at the age of 97. Born April 18, 1922 in Syracuse, NY, and raised in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, son of Dr. Marvin Glismann and Ada (Johnson) Glismann, he was preceeded in death by a brother, David Glismann.

He is survived by his four children, Linda Brantley, Diana Rice-Reams, John (Bud) Glismann and Laura Glismann; four grandchildren, Phil Brantley, Suzi Brantley, Lynn Sullivan, Cassidy Maes and one great grandchild, Beau Brantley. He married in 1949 his former wife Norma R. Miller of Shattuck, Oklahoma, mother of their four kids, and later married Diane Marie Duffy.

John received his bachelors degree in Biology in Norman, OK in 1943, his Medical degree at the Oklahoma School of Medicine in 1946, a masters degree in Public Health from Harvard University School of Public Health in 1950, and later completed his residency in Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver Colorado. His hospital affiliations are numerous, spanning Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska. Well into his 80’s, John went to Antarctica to work at the McMurdo Base as a resident psychiatrist in 2005.

He served from 1947 until 1949 in Kyoto, Japan with the US Army Medical Corps, SCAP Military government. His work in Kyoto during post WWII occupation of Japan resulted in a book being written about Dr. Glismann (in Japanese) and the benevolent medical work he did for the Japanese people as a nation, despite the negative sentiment toward the Japanese in general by US citizens at the time. Many of his personal collections of memorabilia from his service in Japan are permanently on display in a recently built museum in Japan which includes a wing dedicated to John, honoring his memorable and caring work during a trying time in Japan’s history. He was a hero to the people of Japan.

Dr. Glismann served in the Pan American Health Organization (World Health Organization for Americas) in Washington, DC, Lima, Peru and Kingston, Jamaica in the 1950’s, also working in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. He enjoyed a lengthy private practice in psychiatry in Wheatridge, Colorado from1964 to 1998, while also working for various other hospitals and numerous mental health centers throughout the western states, and notably he was instrumental in the establishment of the Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Lakewood, Colorado. John was one of the pioneers in psychiatry in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), being a major contributor in the first scientific breakthroughs in treating this debilitating disorder.

John’s greatest love was the outdoors and he was a snow-skier into his 80’s, a mountain climber (leading groups on climbs for the Colorado Mountain Club, including numerous fourteeners), fisherman, camper, tennis player (into his 90’s), life-long golfer, having played in a Professional/ Amateur tournament at one point and a poker wiz. His goal was to continue golfing as long as his score could match his age, and he did just that. He sang solos and acted in community stage performances and musicals until the age of 93, being a lover of theater, Shakespeare, music and Frank Sinatra. He was a billboard model in his 80s for advertisements for senior living and casinos of all things, never ceasing to find fun and adventure in his twilight years. John was a playful, caring father, husband and friend to people worldwide.

In his youth, John was a radio announcer, singer in a barbershop quartet and followed and worked the Midwest harvest for an entire summer, riding the rails with the local hobos for transportation. Destitute by the end of the summer at age 18, John telegraphed (old school texting) his father (also a physician) “NO MON, NO FUN, YOUR SON”. His dad telegraphed his reply ”TOO BAD, SO SAD, YOUR DAD.” The legacy he left his kids was that self-reliance and hard work are the foundations of a successful life. He was an every man’s man and could make anyone smile without even trying. His only religion was a belief in service to mankind.

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John’s family