Glenn F. Guhman

Glenn was born in December of 1942 to Walter and Emma Guhman of Long Island, New York. He had one older brother, Donald. The family lived on Long Island for several years before eventually moving upstate to Newark Valley. Glenn graduated from Newark Valley High School in 1960, and began his college education at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started as an engineering student but switched majors several times, testing his interest in both studio arts and the sciences. He later transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where he completed his BS in Physics.

Glenn began his professional career at IBM in Fishkill, New York as a co-op student during his time at RIT. There, he began working on early semiconductor technology which he found both fascinating and frustrating. His inquisitive mind was drawn to the young, ever-changing, and rapidly growing technology behind the blossoming computer industry. During his final semesters as a co-op student he applied to work full-time for IBM. He was offered three different placements - one of which would bring him to a new facility in Essex Junction, Vermont, where he would work for years to come.

During his decades-long career at IBM, Glenn had several jobs, several roles, and worked with many, many people. He had the opportunity to work on several projects alongside revolutionaries in computer memory chip development, scanning-electron microscopes, and other rapidly-evolving technologies. One of his passions was creating new inventions for his work, and he was granted three of his own patents for technologies he developed.

Following his retirement from IBM, Glenn briefly worked at Mount Mansfield Union High School helping students with learning difficulties or special circumstances. He was very fond of this work, and loved chatting with younger people and hearing their stories.

Eventually, Glenn moved back to Newark Valley, where he lived with his mother, Emma, until her eventual passing in 2003. During his time with his mother and after her death, he spent much of his free time engaged in various hobbies that he enjoyed.

Given his studio art background, some of Glenn’s favorite pastimes were art and craft projects. He would frequently make pieces of art to share with his friends and family. He was an excellent artist and experimented with many mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture, woodwork, and recycled materials. His favorite works were often whimsical, often “mystical”, but always decisively Glenn. He also loved photography, and could often be seen around his neighborhood in Newark Valley, camera in hand. He most often took pictures of nature, but also enjoyed portraiture.

Glenn was most at peace while enjoying the outdoors. He loved to walk, and would walk for hours around his neighborhood in Newark Valley. He also loved to rest in his hammock, but his favorite outdoor activity was, by far, fishing. When he lived in Vermont, one could often find him fishing under the bridge to Grand Isle, standing on the rocks and casting out to the “good spots”, always hoping to bring home a large bass or trout.

Glenn loved to read, and read vast quantities of science fiction and fantasy novels in his younger years. He loved Asimov, Tolkein, and many others. Glenn also loved to write. Much of his writing was poetry, but he also took the time to write an extensive account of his education and work at college and IBM. He encouraged a love of reading and writing in both his daughter, and in his students during his time working at Mount Mansfield Union High School.

Glenn, like all of us, was a complex man with a multifaceted personality. He was a kind, often generous, jovial, and friendly man. On the other hand, Glenn was an eccentric, odd, and tremendously unique soul. He was a man who could talk to nearly anyone for hours about almost anything when the mood suited him. Glenn had strong opinions and was seldom afraid to share them, even in the presence of clear opposition. More than anything else, however, he genuinely meant well. He tried hard; he did his best. Glenn was not without his flaws, but he could and did apologize for his mistakes. He loved people - he loved their stories and he loved making new stories with them. Glenn navigated most every day with an ever-inquisitive mind, wanting to understand the world, other people, and life.

A fiercely independent man, Glenn spent his last years in nursing care in slowly declining health due to unfortunate circumstances following a severe stroke in 2011. Covid proved to be too much for him, and after battling the virus twice, he tragically never fully recovered. After a sudden and brief illness, he passed away in his sleep at Cold Spring Hills Nursing and Rehabilitation facility in Woodbury, New York.

Glenn was preceded in death by his father, Walter, and mother, Emma. He is survived by his elder brother, Donald (Ruth) Guhman of Prescott Valley, Arizona, by his daughter, Lindsay (Willis) Yeates of Hoover, Alabama, by grandchildren Donovan and Charlotte, by several nieces and nephews, and many grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He will be affectionately remembered by many.

Due to the pandemic, there will not be a memorial service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation of supplies or funds to your local school systems, as the education of our future generations was something important to Glenn.