The Glass Family
As told BY MARY AND DIANNE GLASS 

Public service and education have been longtime cornerstones of the Glass family—and the Manatee County community continues to thrive under their watch. Ever since Patricia “Pat” and Henry “Hank” Glass relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, to Siesta Key in 1955, the local landscape has shifted toward the greater good. The Glasses settled in Manatee County in 1960, owning homes in the Whitfield Estates neighborhood and on Snead Island. They had five children: Michael, Mary, Marty, Dianne, and the late Tom Glass—the siblings made their homes locally, too.

Hank Glass was a World War II Navy veteran, a pioneer behind the Visioneering company, and the devoted husband of Pat Glass for 61 years until his death in 2010. Pat Glass, who passed away last year at age 93, was Manatee County’s first female county commissioner. Appointed in 1978, she served for more than 25 years, ultimately earning the “Distinguished Citizen of the Year” award in 2011.

“Our family rallied around my mother’s campaigns and championed her causes. It was fun to help put up the signs, design the brochures, silk-screen the T-shirts and go to the rallies,” says Mary Glass, who has been the president of the Manatee Education Foundation since 2006. “My mother was a fighter for her constituency, and she was very popular for her advocacy and spirit of tenaciousness in getting things done.” 

To help provide the local homeless population with healthcare, Pat Glass helped bring about the sale of Manatee Memorial Hospital in the mid-1980s. The proceeds from the sale covered the costs of indigent healthcare for more than three decades.

She also helped the mentally ill and those battling substance addiction by lobbying the Florida Legislature for funds to build a nonprofit hospital. This project would become Manatee Glens (later Centerstone), which assists thousands of residents with behavioral and mental health challenges.

In the 1990s, Pat Glass worked to establish the Children’s Services dedicated millage—a special tax that would provide the most significant social service funding for children and families in the history of Manatee County. She was instrumental in building public facilities, such as the Manatee County Administration Building and the Manatee County Detention Center (the latter is bordered by her namesake, Pat Glass Boulevard). Pat Glass helped bring about the acquisition and restoration of the Powel Crosley Estate—a seaside home built by American radio pioneer Powel Crosley Jr.—and negotiated the purchase for the county (Pat Glass’ celebration of life was held on the property).She retired as a county commissioner in 2006. And, in 2018, the Manatee County Commission named its meeting chambers in her honor: the Honorable Patricia M. Glass Chambers.

“Our family has always supported my mother in her public service endeavors—affordable housing, the environment, water, social services and more,” Mary Glass says. “I have so much respect for how my mother worked with the community and made it a full-time commitment to make Manatee County a better place to live.”

That compassion was felt equally in the family home in Whitfield Estates when the Glass children were growing up.“The Glass kitchen table was a hotspot for people to sit, talk and share ideas. I think that’s where a lot of our real foundations started about politics and preserving the water (the things my mother believed in so much),” Mary Glass says. “We were water kids—skiing, going to the beach—and I wonder if that isn’t just a great introduction to how it shapes you later in life. You just appreciate the beauty of nature as a kid.”

An appreciation of nature, and of learning and teaching, were upheld throughout the generations. Five members of the Glass family graduated from the University of South Florida (Pat Glass even earned a master’s degree in gerontology while her daughter, Dianne Glass, was still in grade school). Dianne Glass now does body rolling work (teaching and holding retreats), Michael Glass is a retired accountant, Marty Glass is a cartoonist and graphic designer, and Mary Glass supports teachers and students in the Manatee County School District.

“I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps, to help people, and to support our community,” Mary Glass says. “I remember, when they read her proclamation of accomplishments at the naming of the county chambers, the list was astonishing. At the dedication, the family was so happy to be together with her, just two years ago, before she passed. After she heard all the accolades, she said, ‘In the end, it’s all about love. I have all my children here with me today and that’s all I need.’”

Her children share that sentiment about the profound importance of family, of home, and of the magic of a cherished hometown. The love of this landscape—and the memories made in Manatee County—has kept them here. “There’s something about living here in Manatee County, still, where we all grew up,” Mary Glass says. “And I think that’s why we’ve stayed. It’s a feeling you have—that there’s just no place like it.” For Dianne Glass, living in the family home in Whitfield Estates (a 100-year-old, Spanish-style residence she has owned for 25 years) helps preserve the wonder of her childhood memories.“The Whitfield Estates neighborhood was magical when we were growing up—completely undeveloped, with white sand beaches along Bowles Creek, wooded fields where we had tree forts, and where our dogs ran free with no fences. It was a much simpler time,” Dianne Glass says. “I’ve always been a world traveler, but this is my home and the place where I find refuge. It was a great place to raise my daughter, Nikki. Even though there’s been explosive growth, it still feels like a smallish town and a place where I can connect with the people I’ve known all my life. To me, that’s something to be treasured.”  —A.Weingarten