Obituary of Jeffrey Gluck

Jeffrey P. Gluck, 55, a communications and public relations executive at IBM and an early pioneer in the corporate use of social media, passed away on May 31, at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Jeff died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) after a valiant battle. He was a long-time resident of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. A graduate of Niskayuna High School and the State University of New York at Oneonta, Jeff began his career as a news reporter at WUPE Radio in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and then worked as a reporter-anchor at WGY Radio and WRGB TV in Albany, N.Y., where he was one of the best-known voices in the Capital Region. After leaving daily journalism, Jeff worked as a staff manager at Verizon Corporation and then as a staff director for media relations at Bell Atlantic. Joining IBM in 1998, Jeff held leadership positions in media relations, employee communications and executive communications and he was among the first experts in IBM communications in the new field of social media. Jeff was well known for enthusiastically sharing his expertise with friends and IBM colleagues around the globe, and he regularly briefed executives from other companies who wanted to learn about his strategies and techniques. Never leaving his early days in radio far behind, Jeff was the voice for several IBM radio ads and he was often the producer and voice of IBM videos in which he would sign off by saying "This is Jeff Gluck reporting." He was an avid golfer and photographer, a lover of new electronic gadgets and he enjoyed gardening and playing the piano. Jeff is survived by his wife of 23 years, Elizabeth Berger Gluck, and he was the proud father of their three daughters, Jessica, Caroline and Alexandra, all of Woodcliff Lake. He also is survived by his father, Seymour Gluck, of Niskayuna, NY; his brother, Barry Gluck (Penny Plew), of Clifton Park, NY, and his sister, Lori Murphy, her husband, Jim, and their daughters, Jennifer and Rachel, all of Clifton Park. He was pre-deceased by his mother, Judith Gluck and his brother, David Gluck. A memorial service will be held at 1:00pm on Sunday, June 3rd at Congregation Agudat Achim, 2117 Union Street, Schenectady, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either St. Peter's ALS Regional Center, 19 Warehouse Row, Albany, NY 12205 or ALS Association Greater NY Chapter, 42 Broadway Suite 1724, New York, NY 10003. The period of mourning will be observed at the home of Lori & Jim Murphy, 17 Cindy Lane, Clifton Park, NY, following the service of interment.