Jesse Bright Glaser Memorialized at Green-Fields

Jesse Bright Glaser was the prototype for boys: a dedicated Boy Scout who loved the outdoors and lizards and bugs and almost any animal you can imagine.

So it was fitting that honored him Thursday afternoon by naming their outdoor classroom amphitheater, with seating for 30 students in a sunken well outside the school, in his memory.

Glaser, who died in December 2009 after battling brain cancer, would’ve flashed his trademark smile if he’d been at the dedication.

“That’s so him,” said Kristin O’Neil, who was principal at Green-Fields when Glaser was in first and second grade, of the amphitheater memorial.

Chip Glaser, Jesse’s father, called the memorial “awesome,” and pointed to the fact that in 10, 20 or 50 years, Green-Fields students will carry on Jesse’s memory.

It’s that longevity, in part, that makes it special.

“He’ll always be remembered here,” Chip Glaser said.

Jon Cohen, the current principal at Green-Fields, said the amphitheater as a memorial not only gives students a unique spot to learn outside a normal classroom setting, but also provides a way to remember Jesse.

“Collectively, we desperately want to do whatever part we can to preserve Jesse’s memory and keep him alive in our hearts,” he said.

Those memories resonated with those who gathered around the amphitheater.

O’Neil, who fought back tears as she talked of Jesse’s zeal for life and easy laugh, credited Cohen with helping stoke those memories and keep the school’s grieving process into a celebration of Jesse’s life.

Not long after the tragedy, Cohen organized a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research, and gave the students of Green-Fields the extra incentive that he’d shave his head if they hit their goal.

O’Neil made the first buzz through Cohen’s hair after they did just that, and said trying to find happy moments out of a profoundly sad one was fitting, given Jesse’s memorable grin.

“It really was a celebration of that smile,” O’Neil said.

The memorial amphitheater is just the latest in the line of tributes to Jesse's life. The Gloucester County Police K-9 Association, which made a visit to Jesse in the last weeks of his life, took inspiration from him in their formation, and even have a memorial page on their website dedicated to Jesse's memory.

For the family, the heartache continues, though not just because they lost a son–it’s also because they know what Jesse will miss out on in the passing years.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever have closure,” Chip Glaser said. “It’s for him–it’s not about us, it’ll always be about him.”