According to his daughter, Don Glickman was “a very straightforward individual.”
This characteristic remained true even in his final moments, as he chose to forgo a funeral and an obituary.
Instead, the retired design professor selected a more direct approach — postcards sent posthumously to his friends and beloved students, featuring the message: “If you’re reading this I’m dead, and I really liked you.”
Leah Glickman, Don’s sole daughter, shared with As It Happens host Nil KÓ§ksal, “I don’t believe the recipients of this postcard were at all taken aback by the note. I didn’t send it to anyone he didn’t appreciate.”
‘A final act of design’
Despite the bluntness of his death announcement, presented in a bold Helvetica font along with a self-chosen scowling selfie, it appears Glickman had many people in his life he valued.
Since his passing on November 11 at the age of 94, Leah has dispatched over 100 postcards, using addresses either collected by him in his last days or from his personal correspondence that she has been sorting through since his death.
She mentioned that more postcards will be sent out soon.
“If he liked you, you were aware of it,” she remarked. “And I was aware of it.”
Leah Glickman inscribed a message on the reverse side of her father’s posthumous postcards. (Submitted by Leah Glickman)
While the text on the front of the postcard was penned by Glickman, the back carries a message from Leah.
“Dearest friends and family, after 94 years on this planet, my dad has departed. His last days were filled with butter pecan ice cream, flamenco music, and a view he cherished, along with the love he ultimately embraced,” she wrote.
“In a final act of design and Glickman ethos, he requested that this postcard be made, with both photo and text selected by him. He remained true to himself until the very end.”
Glickman, who suffered from congestive heart failure, passed away at home in Anacortes, Washington. Leah was present, holding his hand.
‘It is exactly him,’ writes former student
Prior to his retirement in the late 1990s, Glickman served as a design professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and later at the University at Buffalo.
Leah noted that he formed strong connections with many of his students, some of which endured well beyond their graduation.
“I believe his most significant impact in the world was as an educator,” she stated. “He recognized this about himself. I think it was what he took the most pride in.”
Leah describes her father as an intensely curious individual. (Submitted by Leah Glickman)
He certainly left a mark on Jason Snape, a former student of Glickman who recently received a postcard.
“I relied on him while I sought solutions to challenges,” Snape told the Washington Post, which first reported this story.
Following in his professor’s footsteps, Snape became a design educator for over ten years and is currently employed at a remodeling firm in Atlanta.
Upon receiving the postcard this week, he wrote a tribute to his former professor on Instagram.
“When I discovered my passion for design and problem-solving, it was due to the projects he assigned us. And when I reached out to him while learning to be a teacher, he was just as clear, focused, and receptive. He is undoubtedly the main reason I excelled in teaching more than anything else I’ve done.”
“His highest compliment from school? ‘Snape, you’re so f—in weird! I love it!’ I hope everyone had a teacher like him.”
Regarding the postcard?
“It is truly him in both irreverence and kindness,” Snape expressed.
Don and Leah Glickman at Mount Rushmore in 2017. (Submitted by Leah Glickman)
Snape’s post gained significant attention, and Glickman’s postcards have since been highlighted by numerous news outlets.
Though Glickman preferred not to be in the spotlight, his daughter believes he would have felt proud to receive such high praise from a former student.
“I think he would have pretended to be annoyed, made that face from the photograph, and perhaps stuck out his tongue and grimaced a bit,” she remarked.
“Ultimately, we all receive the love we deserve.”
