Dr. Jack Glasser on Thursday, March 24, 2016, at The Glasser Clinic. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

When talking to Dr. Jack Glasser, it’s obvious that the family doctor loves his career at The Glasser Clinic, which is located in TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital’s Physicians Specialty Center.

“It can be crazy sometimes, but it can be a lot of fun,” he said. “My staff is great. They take care of my patients and myself. That’s what makes it go.

“A lot of times it’s 7 (a.m.) to 7 (p.m.),” he said. “Rarely do I get out before 6 (p.m.).”

Glasser has been practicing for 35 years.

“I still enjoy it. My patients are my friends,” he said. “It’s a true enjoyment to take care of them. Our motto is ‘cure them with kindness.'”

He also has a love of his family. Glasser’s office is crammed with pictures of his wife of 41 years, Janice; their two daughters, Kelly and Lauren; their 5-year-old granddaughter, Kaitlyn; and Glasser’s late brother, Joe.

“My wife and I love to dance. Getting to dance with her has been a lot of fun,” he said. “I had to have my knees replaced last year. It’s a lot more fun working when you’ve got two good knees than when you have two bad knees.”

Medicine wasn’t always his only interest. He played baseball and basketball at College High. Born to Frank and Jane Glasser, he enjoyed his high school years.

“It was a great high school. It was strict, but we had great teachers,” he said. “My mother went there. My brother and I went there.”

Glasser thrived at College High. He was Athlete of the Year and All-American in baseball and basketball in 1969 during his senior year. He was also salutatorian. He received a baseball scholarship to Western Kentucky University, playing catcher there as he did in high school.

“I had a great time,” he said.

Glasser’s baseball prowess followed him to college. He was the first All-American baseball player at WKU in 1973. He received Athlete of the Year and Pre-Med Student of the Year Awards in 1973 and was the first to get both awards in the same year. In 1999, he was inducted into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2011, WKU retired his No. 14 jersey.

“At the time, it was the only jersey they’d ever retired,” he said.

Glasser graduated from Western in 1973 and graduated from medical school at the University of Louisville in 1977.

“My wife and I got married at the end of my second year,” he said.

He finished his residency at the University of Florida in 1980. He had numerous offers to stay in Florida, but longed to come home.

“Bowling Green is a great town. WKU is a great university,” he said. “I had to come back here. I wanted to come back here.”

Glasser joined Dr. Jerry Martin and opened a medical office at what was then CDS No. 7. He was there for 20 years. When it was sold in 2000, the practice had to move. He was at Graves-Gilbert Clinic for 10 years before opening his current office, which has been open for five years. He practices with James T. Douglas and Kevin Kelly.

“It’s been a good five years,” he said.

Glasser had a hand in designing the entire clinic.

“We wanted it to be different and nice,” he said. “It’s designed to be friendlier. When the phone rings, we want them to hear a smile.”

His mother, Jane, loved to paint. Glasser has a room dedicated to her with paintings and pictures of horses. Three pieces of artwork were done by his mother.

Glasser’s love for alma mater runs deep. There is a WKU room filled with memorabilia, including signed basketball and football prints and a picture of famed basketball coach E.A. Diddle walking out of Diddle Arena. 

“I was at WKU with (WKU President) Gary Ransdell,” he said.

People whose lives Glasser has touched have been impressed with they type of man he has become.

Local dentist Dr. Phillip VanMeter played baseball with Glasser at WKU.

“He was my hind catcher. We had our careers in baseball and were close in age,” he said. “I was a pitcher. We played for Coach Jim Pickens. He was a baseball coach at Western.”

As a hind catcher, Glasser was required to wear a lot of gear, but that didn’t stop him from being quick, VanMeter said.

“The one thing about Dr. Glasser was that as a batter hit the ball and ran to first base, he would beat the runner to the base. He was very quick,” he said. “It’s unusual for a hind catcher to have that much quickness and energy. They had to not only get up from a crouching position, but they had to run to first base.

“He was competitive, which means he was always hustling,” he said. “You knew when he played he wanted to be a winner. He put out every effort to want to win the ball game.”

Glasser puts that same kind of energy in his professional and personal life, VanMeter said.

“I think as he conducts his practice and family life, he has the high priorities of being the best and tries to be successful in everything that he does,” he said. “He puts forth the full effort and energy to accomplish his goals.”

Mark Marsh, former chief executive officer at Greenview, called Glasser “quite a physician.”

“There are things he shared along the way,” he said. ” ‘You cure them with kindness.’ I quote it all the time.”

They also shared sports war stories, as Glasser played baseball and Marsh played football. They knew each other from Saint Thomas West Hospital, formerly Saint Thomas Hospital, where Marsh was a recruiter and Glasser was a physician. After Glasser’s time at Graves-Gilbert Clinic, Marsh wanted to bring him to Greenview.

“He wanted to design an office that was suitable for his patients,” he said. “A lot of them were his ideas.”

Glasser is “such a fabulous physician, but he’s a better person,” Marsh said.

“His patients absolutely love it. He’s the Marcus Welby of Bowling Green. He’s a great listener. He’s never hurried or rushed,” he said. “He’s all about his patients. He’s a very compassionate physician. That says a lot about health care.”

Mike Sherrod, the current CEO at Greenview, said he has known Glasser for about three years. He describes him as “one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around, both on the field and off the field.

“I’ve worked with a lot of doctors in a lot of states and communities. He gives 100 percent to what he does. He’s an ambassador for Greenview and the community,” he said. “He’s always prepared whether it’s with a patient or the community or working with Western.”

Glasser has a “can-do attitude,” Sherrod said.

“He finds a way to make things work. He has a high level of expectations of himself and those around him,” he said. “I think that’s why he’s such a great leader, not only at Greenview, but in the community. I’ve probably learned a lot from him. He motivates me.”

Glasser is motivated by all the patients he cares for, many of whom are connected to him in some way. He has won Best in Bowling Green as “Best Physician” 15 times.

“I’ve taken care of grade school teachers, college coaches,” he said. Many of them I played baseball and basketball with. Taking care of my teachers and coaches has been a true blessing.”

People often ask him when he will retire, Glasser said.

“People say you just know. I turn 65 in July,” he said. “With two new knees I could go a while.”

Why would he retire when he loves his career so much?

“Being from Bowling Green is so fun and enjoyable,” he said. “Bowling Green people are the best people in the world.”

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter at twitter.com/bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.