A Life Well-Lived
Gone way too soon…
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A good man has left us.
Tiny Glover was only 45 years old when he died but he touched more people than most of us would if we had a couple of lifetimes.
If you’re lucky, you know someone like Tiny — someone who can come into a room and just make it sparkle. Tiny’s gift was that, as charismatic as he was, he somehow always managed to make everyone around him feel better about themselves.
When I first came to Rochester and was performing and producing an underground comedy show called The Comedy Block Party, Tiny was one of the first people to come perform at our upstart venue.
We had other comics there from New York City but it was Tiny who rocked the house and made the night a special one for all of us who were lucky enough to be there.
He probably did that a thousand different times but each and every time you saw him it felt unique and special.
Please keep Tiny’s wife Kim and his 7-year-old daughter, Madeleine in your thoughts.
We will all miss him.
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Jeff Spevak penned a very nice tribute to Tiny in the local Rochester paper, the Democrat and Chronicle. Here it is:
Jeff Spevak
Staff music criticKenneth “Tiny” Glover, a big comedian with a big heart for people, particularly kids, died unexpectedly Sunday morning in Illinois when that big heart apparently gave out.
The 45-year-old Mr. Glover’s many appearances included several years at the now-closed Hiccups, and more recently at Comix Cafe. Mr. Glover, whose material was generally regarded as upbeat and clean, was a popular act on the college circuit, but he also entertained children with a character named Grandpa Teddy. He was working out on a treadmill while waiting for a plane flight back to Rochester following a gig at Illinois College in Jacksonville when he was stricken.
“Unbelievable,” said his fellow comic, Dan Liberto. “I’ve had comics calling from all over the country the last couple of days. He taught classes, he set up comedy coaching, he helped so many comics launch their careers. He toured the country, but his devotion to church and family was overwhelming.”
Kimberly Reese Glover — who married her husband on July 3, 2004, in Horseheads — pointed out that Mr. Glover was also involved in after-school programs involving storytelling and one of his passions, chess. “Comedy was just a small part of what he did,” she said.
One of Mr. Glover’s biggest projects each year was the Storytelling Festival of the Rochester School District and Rochester School Library System. Sadly, that event was held Monday at East High School. “We didn’t want to tell the kids,” said Linda Cruttenden, director of the school library system.
She said Mr. Glover had been at School 19 on Friday, preparing the students there for the event. “He had told the kids he would be there; they were asking for him. We didn’t want to get them upset, so we made an announcement afterward.”
Cruttenden said Mr. Glover’s workshops particularly gave city kids hope, as he had once been a city kid himself. “He came in with a whole lot of sunshine and a whole lot of hope,” she said, adding that Mr. Glover would be awarded posthumously the yearly “Friend of the Library” award.
Like most guys named Tiny, Mr. Glover was a big man.
“He’d been working out twice a week, he’d lost a lot of weight,” Liberto said. “He was eating good; he was really, really on track to get in good health.”
Mr. Glover was born in Rochester on Jan. 13, 1963. He attended Pittsford Mendon schools as part of the Urban-Suburban school exchange program and in 1984 earned a degree at State University College at Brockport in interdisciplinary arts for children. He was later certified as a New York state mediator, working with kids in kindergarten through 12th grade, conducting workshops on conflict resolution, peer mediation, bias awareness and the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
“He was always on the move, getting up benefits for other comics, other people,” said Liberto. “This guy had a heart as big as the world. God needed a mayor up in Heaven, that’s all I can figure. He’d walk into the room, and he owned the place. And that was before the show started.”
He is survived by his wife; their 7-year-old daughter, Madeleine Reese; his parents, Walter and Naomi Glover of Henrietta; brother Walter Glover and sister Angela Skyers, both of Connecticut, and sister Justine-Glover Adams of Rochester; and mother- and father-in-law, William and Karen Reese of Horseheads.
A sister, Tracy Titus, died earlier.
Calling hours will be 5-8 p.m. Friday at Church of Jesus Christ, 16 Helena St. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at the church, with interment at Riverside Cemetery.
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