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Remembering Larry & Jane Glazer

WXXI

Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the plane crash that killed well-known Rochester area business people and philanthropists Larry and Jane Glazer.

WXXI spoke with Ken Glazer, managing partner of Buckingham Properties, the company that his father founded.

Glazer says even though members of the family involved in Buckingham didn't have a lot of time to slow down to mourn their parents passing a year ago, memories of them are still very strong.

"They were such big parts of so many people's lives that they're not going away, their memories are very stuck in me and they're not going to disappear and I don't think they'll ever disappear, but it's been a year and I swear, it's like yesterday I just spoke with them."

Glazer has been busy moving ahead with major projects his father was involved with, such as the work on the former Midtown Tower, Legacy Tower which is the former Bausch and Lomb headquarters, and the Xerox Tower.

"It's hard for me to gauge where we are a year later, far as I can tell we're doing pretty well; maybe there's someone out there saying, no, they're not doing as well as we think but one thing's for sure, the team that he put in place has been nothing more than phenomenal."

But with all of the business interests that Larry Glazer had with Buckingham, and that Jane Glazer had with the company she founded, QCI Direct, Ken Glazer says one of their biggest legacies was the emphasis they put on philanthropy and giving back to the Rochester area.

"My parents, for as long as I can remember have always been pushing and been adamant about community and giving back , that we are very fortunate to be where we are and to have some of the financial advantages and , and it's not about giving money to things, it's about being part of the community and helping those folks that need it." Ken Glazer is a current member of the Board of Trustees of WXXI and his parents also had been board members at various times.

Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, the president of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation, says  the projects that Larry Glazer and his company have been involved in, really helped change the face of downtown.

“That’s because he had the (presence) in the market... he saw things before a lot of other people did, and we had people that were investing but in large measure it was the size and scale of the investments, the size and scale of his vision for the center city and it created a kind of confidence for the market.”

Zimmer-Meyer says a lot of those projects that were started under Larry Glazer's leadership have continued without missing a beat, partly due to good succession planning at Buckingham.

Among those remembering Larry is another local developer Bob Morgan. His company, Morgan Management worked with Glazer's firm, Buckingham Properties, on a number of major projects.

They were also good friends, and Morgan says he wishes Glazer was around to see the various projects completed.

“I said to somebody today in a meeting, I wish Larry was here to see this, and we’re doing some really wonderful things as a joint venture partner together, and we’re like one big family together, the two groups.”

Morgan says the partnership between the two companies has continued to proceed very smoothly, with Ken Glazer now managing partner at Buckingham.

Peter Lovenheim says he thinks about his sister Jane Glazer all the time. Lovenheim says among his sister's passions was mentoring young women, not only in their family, but at the catalogue company she founded.

“She told me a lot of stories over the years about young women she’d hired for entry level  jobs that she perceived to have skills and ambitions beyond what she was able to offer at work, and how she helped them plot their careers and encourage them.”

Lovenheim says his sister previously had been a teacher, and she was proud of that profession as well as her business work because of what she was able to contribute to Rochester.

Mindy MacLaren, daughter of the Glazers, issued this statement on behalf of the family:

"We would like to thank the community for their support and concern throughout the past year. We truly appreciate all of the posthumous awards and honors given to our parents which allowed us to share in proud moments, counterbalancing the very sad ones. We feel lucky to be a part of such a generous community."

Bob Duffy, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, said that Larry Glazer was in line to serve as the next chairman of the RBA and he says that while “ Jane and Larry can never be replaced, it is heartening to know the Glazer family carries on their legacy.”

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.