Devotion to German Village, OSU football shone through
Jerry Glick, a stalwart for the German Village neighborhood and an ardent Ohio State Buckeyes fan, died late Saturday, his close friends said. He was 81. Glick, who didn’t miss an Ohio State home football game for 70 years, also was instrumental in cleaning up his neighborhood.
Glick was passionate about the development of Frank Fetch Park near the 200 block of Beck Street in German Village. His close friends said Glick loved the park and spent many hours maintaining the area.
“He was the driving force behind this beautiful place,” Glick’s friend Bob Grove wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday morning. “We will miss him terribly.”
Nancy Little, president of the German Village Garten Club, said Glick’s love for Fetch Park and improving his neighborhood was always accompanied by kindness.
“He was the consummate citizen,” she said. “And he always had the twinkle in his eye no matter what he was doing.”
Glick was a longtime English and literature teacher at Barrett Middle School and Walnut Ridge High School.
He also served as president of the German Village Society. During that time, he organized meetings and lunches with village residents and police to help combat crime.
Officers would present crime statistics to the group, and Glick would work with residents to develop safety initiatives.
The German Village Society posted this message on its Facebook page on Sunday:
“Jerry’s heart was way too big to fail, even though he has been hospitalized for weeks in critical condition following a fall and surgery last month. ... We have a lot of things to sort out as we imagine our community without his optimistic activism, to include making arrangements for the memorial service that will take place after the holiday weekend.”