Bill Glasser, as we were watching a basketball game together.
William Glasser passed away yesterday, August 23, at 6:30 PM. He died peacefully in the loving arms of his wife, Carleen. He was 88 years old.
I anticipated this day, his being gone, but it didn’t prepare me for the loss that I feel. He became more than a mentor to me. His ideas appealed to me at a deep level and ultimately changed the paradigm from which I view the world. That he and I were able to spend so much time together talking about his life and his views will always mean a great deal to me. In some ways, the biography that came out of those visits takes on even greater meaning now.
To a great extent, The Better Plan blog exists because of him. Scripture and other spiritual writers like Ellen White pointed toward a human behavior model of internal control, yet for some reason it was Bill Glasser that alerted me to the importance of the internal control model. It was my agnostic friend Bill Glasser that, in his own unique way, encouraged me to take another look at what Scripture and Ellen White have been saying all along. It was Bill who put me on the trail of the better plan.
For me, a light has gone out today. I feel a little bit more alone, a little bit more on my own. Grief is like that. It has its own agenda, it’s own clock. In time, the grief will lessen and I will see more clearly the many lights that his message ignited. Many besides me were affected by his ideas. As the creator of reality therapy and the architect of choice theory, Glasser meant a lot to a lot of people. That really is where I want my focus to be. Instead of dwelling on the light that has gone out, I want to think about the many lights that will begin to shine brighter. And by many lights I mean you and me and the potential of our modeling lives of strength and freedom.
In the coming days and months there will be time to say more. For now I am of the mind to reflect on Glasser’s effect on my life and cherish the time I had with him. My heart goes out to those who are especially feeling his passing–his immediate family and his close circle of friends and colleagues. We will miss him and there’s no getting around it.
I hope the media takes note of his passing and reminds people of what Glasser stood for and what he accomplished during his career. I would appreciate it if you would let me know if you see or hear something on the news or in the print media regarding William Glasser. I feel blessed to have called him my friend.
The Better Plan . . 
Thank you Jim for your part in this story! Because of you William Glasser’s light will shine a bit brighter and longer. Keep up the posts and the good work! Help us get to know him through your ongoing reflections on what it means to choose!
Thank you, Phil. Your words mean a lot to me.
Jim, I am sorry for your personal lost of your friend William Glasser, I am so glad that your two lives met and that you connected so well! The torch is now in your hand!
Maybe A torch, not sure about THE torch. His was a very big torch to fill. There are some incredibly knowledgeable and talented people within his organization. Hopefully, one of them, or several of them will begin to fill the gap.
Thank-you for this post Jim. My sympathies to all.
Good to hear from you, Maureen. We’ll support each other through this.
Yes, JIm,we will support each other. You are such a special part of the legacy now! I am really looking forward to reading your book. As Carleen said “we need to celebrate his life” and his very extraordinary gifts he gave us all. I just read your reply about Chicago and him introducing you as his biographer, and I had a little chuckle. Those are the things we need to remember. I remember the first time I met him, I walked what seemed like miles and in reality was about 100 feet and we did not say one word to each other. I was so “awe struck” and he was very pensive. That was in 1988. After that day, I told myself, I will never ever miss an opportunity like that again! I will be prepared with my questions. Over the years he taught me so much! Love to you Jim!
Thank you for sharing your reflections, Jim. I’ll always remember being invited to sit with you at his table in Chicago. Yes, his work and life have put many pieces of the puzzle together for me. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to learn from him and his team of qualified teachers. Trusting that when a seed dies, it is really only replanting itself in multiplicity, we can both be assured that his work will have an on-going effect. I support your sorrow at this time. It is a reflection of your great regard and love for Bill.
I had forgotten about Chicago. You know, the Chicago convention is where Glasser introduced me as his biographer. Totally took me by surprise. I started thinking, well, I guess I’m his biographer.
I like your “when a seed dies” analogy. That’s very meaningful right now.
Thank you, Jim, for your brief reflection. William Glasser spent a life talking and writing about Biblical principles. His life reminds me that one can love the principles of the creator God, without believing in the person-hood of God. Like you, I read more clearly the Bible and Ellen White because of his clarity on the power of choice and the internal control model. These principles have been shown to be right, regardless of how they are discovered. Keep us posted on how we can formally show our respect to Carleen and his family.
I think some messages are so important that God wants every angle covered. He wants those who read His Word to get the message of free will and the power of choice, but He also wants those who don’t read His Word to hear and understand this message. I think Glasser filled that role.
Although I never had the privilege of knowing William Glasser personally, he has profoundly affected my life and my teaching career through the inspiration of Jim Roy. I had read several of Glasser’s books in college and early in my teaching career, but I had never internalized the bottom line message until I took the Soul Shapers classes at PUC. Since then I have re-read Glasser’s books that pertain to education, as well as the book Education and Fundamentals of Christian Education. What a difference it has made in my teaching. Although I am no longer young and “cool” I have a better relationship with my students than ever before in my career, and I am having more fun teaching than I ever have. The last four years have been the best years of my career. Thank you William Glasser, Ellen White, and Jim Roy for providing me with the tools to do this.
Great words, Paul! I’m touched to even be in the same sentence with Bill and Ellen.
He has profoundly impacted my life professionally and personally . I have read all of his works and have followed his teachings for over 30 years and have worked to learn and implement his teachings. Thank you Dr. Glasser for being the calm in the storm.
“The calm in the storm.” What a great word picture!
Jim, My sincere condolences on your loss. What an important and unique place he had in your life.
Doug Cooper
Who would have thought that our paths would cross and that I would become such good friends with William Glasser. And that further I would be able to pick his brain on so many important topics. Who would have thought?
Dear Dr. Roy,
I am so sad to hear that William Glasser died. I didn’t know him except through you, but you certainly brought his work to life for me. It’s hard to lose the ones we love even when we know the day will come. For now I hope you are gentle with yourself and just allow yourself to grieve the space he occupied in your life.
Sending prayers,
Susie Schuetz (aka Susie Eastwood/Valley View Adventist Academy- I just went back to my maiden name…which was a great choice for me to make! :-))
Thank you, Susie. Good to hear from you. I am curious about about how choice theory is doing at Valley View. Are you still making progress or with a new principal will you have to start over?
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers today, Jim. I look forward to your work in the years to come as you continue to reflect and write on the eternal, universal spiritual principles that Dr Glasser wrote about from his non-religious point of view. God be with you.
I like the way you point out how Glasser was able to influence our thinking on eternal spiritual principals from a non-religious point of view. I very much agree with you.
Hey Jim,
Just noticed the last post on the Better Plan regarding the passing of Dr. Glasser came through as “anonymous” evidently left off my name and email. I look forward to more years of discussion of these great principles.
All the best, Bob
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Tablet
A man many years ahead of his time. History will show William Glasser as one of the greats in the world of psychology. Not just because he was oft quoted and wrote reams of professional papers, but because his concepts and ideas can be put into practice and work in the real world. A big loss Jim. We have lost a practical visionary and you have lost a close friend and mentor.
I agree with how you have worded it, Steve. His ideas can change lives, and marriages, and classrooms, and workplaces, and . . .
I just saw this this morning Jim and I am so sorry for the loss of such a great friend in your life. His life has touched so many of us through you, and I know he will continue to influence our lives.
Thank you, Ron. I appreciate your support. I know we both want to understand the principles of choice theory better and to live them more consistently. May the journey continue.
My condolences to you my friend. He helped many of us find a non-coercive way.
In His Service,
G. Chris Larson
Teacher K-8, Principal
Kohala Mission School
541-749-8604
Good to hear from you, Chris. It’s been too long. Let’s catch up somehow.
Yes definitely a loss to the world of counseling, my thoughts and prayers for the family… However, GlasseÅ•s light will NOT go out, nor will it be diminished much because of his many disciples who champion his theory. One of which is my teacher Maureen M. Thank you Maureen and THANK YOU DR. GLASSER!
Beautifully written, Jim. Â You captured so much of the legacy he has left, our responsibility to carry on, and the difficulty of loss. Â I am watching for news clips. Â And I am sad–such a loss. Â I treasure the time we got to spend with him at your hooding ceremony, what a marvelous sense of humor he had, and–so wise, he was just so wise. Â Â
________________________________
I am really glad you were a part of the graduation, which also included Bill receiving an honorary doctorate from Pacific Union College. It was a special weekend.
My heart goes out to his family and dear friends. His work certainly touched my life at a crucial time.
I can relate to what you have said. His work touched so many of us.
Wow… this helps us to continue to put things in perspective.blessings
I only knew William Glasser from his books. But because of you, Jim, and what you have shared from your relationship with him, he has become kind of near. Reading that he had passed away and your beautiful words around it, my heart was touched. His theory has opened my eyes in so many ways and helped people I have been connected to, through many years, since I first read Soul Shapers. From him, to you, to me, to my students, familiy, friends …Thanks.
If I have in any way contributed to your understanding of choice theory, or to your family’s understanding, or to your students, then I humbly reply, “You’re welcome.” My hope is that somehow the Spirit will bring us, many of us, into a deeper understanding of our power of choice and the way that our Creator designed us for lives of freedom.
An outstanding tribute to a most endeared Man of Honor. I am indebted to both Bill Glasser and Jim Roy for the blessings of the tools that both have imparted. Bill will be missed dearly, but is legacy will live on in all who use “The Tools” wisely. He was one of the most spiritual agnostics I have ever known.
A lovely piece, JIm. We grieve along with you. You have sent me back to a re-read of Ellen White’s Education. Thank you. D.