During sixty one years of married life, Sally and William Glick lovingly raised three daughters and were prominent business leaders. Glicks Furniture Company was one of the best known stores in town. Throughout their lives, they served the community in numerous volunteer and leadership capacities.

After retiring, the Glicks met with their estate planners and the Columbus Jewish Foundation to assure that their estate plan reflected their devotion and love for the strongly-knit family that they nourished and the community that nourished them. Permanent funds for nine charities were named in their planning documents.

“Our parents weren’t afraid to speak about their mortality,” said their oldest daughter, Ruth Ann Blank. “They let us know their interests and how they wanted things handled after they died. They cared for their family and their community, because the community was their family as well.”

William Glick passed away in 2003. Wife Sally died eight months ago. Their daughters, Ruth Ann Blank and Jody Altschule, both of Columbus, and Nancy Bitton, a Florida resident, are proud to discuss their parents’ legacy and the factors that influenced their charitable inclinations.

The “Glick girls” recount a long and storied family history with deep Ohio roots. The narrative is further detailed in oral history archives at the Columbus Jewish Historical Society. After emigrating from Austria, William’s grandfather Adolph lived and worked in small towns in Ohio, teaching religion at home and the Old Testament in a Methodist school. He later moved to Columbus to provide more of a Jewish life for his children, where he served on the board of Temple Israel. His son Frank was also active at Temple Israel. Frank and his father bought and sold furniture stores in Richwood, LaRue, North Lewisburg, and Fort Recovery, Ohio. “Frank gave sons Robert and Bill their values, and our grandmother encouraged them to be that way too,” daughter Jody Altschule explained. William Glick, like his father and grandfather, served on the boards of Temple Israel and its foundation, and named both among his estate’s beneficiaries.

“My grandfather was a wonderful man, very generous to his community and his customers at the family furniture store. When the 1913 flood devastated homes of many of their customers on the west side of Columbus, he forgave the balances of what they owed on Glick’s furniture that was lost in the flood. This was part of his philanthropy. They were generous in the general community, not just the Jewish community.”

Brothers William and Robert Glick served in the US Army during World War II. Upon returning, they took over the furniture business. “In those days my mother did the normal things women did in that era,” Ruth Ann explained. “She stayed home and raised the children, and was also active in Temple Israel Sisterhood.” Sally took pride in the accomplishments of her brother, Dr. Samuel Ornstein, who directed the National Children’s Center from 1997 until his death in 1994. “Sam dedicated his life to people with disabilities,” she recalled upon executing the estate documents. “His vision was that people deserve the best, regardless of their disability or economic circumstances. That is why we made provisions for youth-oriented programs and scholarships in his memory at the National Children’s Center, which is housed in the Ornstein Building at 3400 Martin Luther King Avenue in Washington DC.”

In addition to volunteering at the Temple, William headed the Columbus Jewish Federation annual campaign in 1966, was a United Way Vice Chair, and for many years chaired the Columbus Jewish Foundation Grants Committee, where he also served as vice chairman of its Executive Committee. Both organizations are beneficiaries of the estate.

“When I was growing up,” Ruth Ann said, “my father was always going to meetings. You hope you are a good example for your children. You want your children to be happy and good people. He was philanthropic and concerned with putting in time as well as money.”

“When I was a kid,” Jody said, “my father would say, ‘if you give away a substantial amount of what you have, will it really hurt? Will it make a difference in your life? And the answer was always, you could manage and get through and be ok. He knew you couldn’t take it with you, there would be no Brinks truck at your graveside, and you might as well do some good in this world.”

Other beneficiaries chosen by William and Sally Glick, all near and dear to their hearts, are the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Services, Columbus Jewish Historical Society, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters—named because Bill, whose father died when he was only 11, knew the importance of mentors.

Another recipient is the University of Florida, explained daughter Nancy, because the Glicks were informed by her husband, Professor Gabriel Bitton, of the difficulties encountered by graduate students in funding research and experiments.

Thankfully, said Ruth Ann Blank, her parents lived until their 80’s, and their legacy planning was thoughtful and prudent. As a Columbus Jewish Foundation board member, her father was well-versed in the Foundation’s mission to invest in the community and build for the community. “Both he and my uncle were advised that in their case it would make good business sense to use their IRA’s as their primary bequest vehicle.” She explained that were advised that IRA transfers to her and her sisters would be double-taxed upon her parents’ deaths, but because the Foundation is tax exempt, their favorite charities would get full value undiminished by any taxes. Because of their longevity, there was not quite as much left in their IRA as originally expected, but it was still enough to fund the organizations they wished to remember, she said. “Upon our mother’s passing, it was all easily transferred to the Foundation, where the individual funds are now housed.”

Each of the three Glick daughters follow in their parents’ footsteps in their own way: Nancy Bitton in Hadassah, her synagogue and sisterhood; Jody Altschule at the JCC and Columbus Jewish Historical Society, among others; and Ruth Ann, most notably at the Columbus Jewish Federation, Columbus Jewish Foundation and the JCC, where she was the first female president. In turn, their children are stepping up to the plate through youth groups, synagogues, and service organizations. Ruth Ann’s grandson Evan has set up his own charitable fund through the B’nai Tzedek teen giving program at the Columbus Jewish Foundation.

“Our family hopes that other people consider giving in this way,” said Ruth Ann Blank, noting that others, like her parents, can plan in advance to maximize the use and value of their family’s assets, to set up trusts and endowment funds with the Columbus Jewish Foundation. “The Foundation has good leadership and knowledgeable people. With his passion and sincerity for what he does, the Foundation director, Jackie Jacobs, has set up some of the best programs and funds. Anyone can meet with him. There are so many ways to benefit the agencies you want to support.”

Echoing each other, the reflections of Bitton, Altschule, and Blank about their parents’ tradition of giving get to the heart of the matter. “Our parents, William and Sally Glick, felt it important to be involved in the Jewish community, doing their part, paying their dues. It was just automatic.” Said Altschule, “You are part of a community and it is part of your responsibility.”

For more information about establishing enduring legacies, contact Jackie Jacobs at the Columbus Jewish Foundation, jjacobs@tcjf.org or call (614) 338-2365.