Rochester Lourdes community remembers far-reaching impact of teacher, coach Myron Glass

Rochester Catholic Schools administrators addressed the school’s community with sadness and gratitude after the death of former teacher, coach and Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame member Myron Glass on Oct. 22.

In an email, which can be found in full at the bottom of this article, Rochester Lourdes High School Principal Mary Spring announced Glass’s visitation ceremony at the high school gym and provided testimonies from those whose lives were touched by Glass.

Glass was inducted into the basketball hall of fame in 2018 alongside others such as Lindsay Whalen and Kevin McHale. Glass collected more than 700 wins in his career, placing him among the winningest coaches in Minnesota girls’ basketball history.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS sister station KAAL-TV reported Glass won six state championships from 1968-2014 and coached many sports, including cross country.

In the email below, colleagues also commended his teaching ability and character.

Dear RCS Community,

It is with great sadness that our school community mourns the loss of Mr. Myron Glass, a teacher, coach, and scheduler who dedicated over 45 years of his life to Lourdes High School. Mr. Glass passed away on October 22, 2022.

As an RCS community, we remember Mr. Glass and his dedication to both his students and athletes. St. Francis teacher, Tracy Reilly, fondly recalls many of the games she sat next to coach Glass as his assistant coach for over twenty years. “Myron cherished the memories of all the great games and loved even more the friendships that were created with the players, the students, other coaches, officials and truly anyone involved.  He so enjoyed the camaraderie and passed that onto the girls.  He always showed respect for everyone and the girls witnessed that in all of his interactions on and off the court.”

Mr. Glass was a kind man who cared about his students. He took the time to answer questions, showed a genuine interest in their day-to-day lives, and convinced students that math didn’t have to be so difficult if they concentrated on solving for X.

As a coach, Mr. Glass was instrumental in starting sports programs for girls at LHS. He was the pioneer of many, including track and field and cross country running. In 1983, coach Glass joined the girls’ basketball staff as head coach. While 700+ wins and eight state basketball championships were amazing accomplishments, it’s a small testament to the man he was.

Lourdes Director of Counseling and Head girls’ soccer coach Sarah Groven shared, “Myron was an incredible mentor to me throughout my years of coaching. I learned so much from him beyond the Xs and Os. He taught me about team integrity, character, and what it means to study, share, and teach the game you are passionate about.”

We will forever be grateful to the ways that Mr. Glass dedicated himself to the Lourdes community and the families it serves.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 30th from 2-5 p.m. at the Lourdes High School Gym. There will be visitation at 10:00 a.m. and Memorial Mass on Monday, October 31st at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Spirit with Fr. Loomis presiding.

Rochester Lourdes High School Principal Mary Spring