Earl Glickstein died peacefully at 83 years old on April 3rd, 2025, at his home, Charter Senior Living of Columbia MD. He is survived by his son Evan Glickstein of Arlington VA, daughter Deborah (& Mitch) Markowitz and grandchildren Sam and Jess Markowitz of Elkridge MD, and sister Mona Saferstein of Rockville MD.

Earl grew up in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, and then Portland, Maine, as evidenced by his lack of R's in words where they belong, and inserted R's where they do not. He thought it was always a great idear to eat pizzar! Earl earned a degree in Math from the University of Maine. He held a grudge for decades against the College Board for having the audacity to claim that he made ONE mistake on his math SATs.

He went on to work as an actuary for New York Life, before being drafted for the U.S. Army, reporting to the Pentagon. That is where he learned to work with IBM computers, and was subsequently hired by IBM in Maryland as a computer programmer, where he continued to work until they made him an early retirement offer he couldn't resist, and retired at only 52 years old.

Earl was then thrilled to devote even more time to playing bridge around the continent, and teaching others how to do so. He had become a Life Master by his mid-thirties, and ultimately became a Grand Life Master with 15,965 masterpoints. He played and excelled in so many tournaments upon his retirement that he was nationally ranked. Some in the bridge world called him "The Snail," because he often took the time to calculate the probability of his opponents having specific hands.

When Earl's grandchildren were born, even bridge took a backseat. His greatest joy was spending time with his kids and grandkids, often laughing so hard that his whole body and shoulders would bounce up and down.

Earl would be cringing over his children's use of contractions in his obituary. He DID NOT feel contractions should ever be used in writing, even in informal correspondence. He enjoyed being teased about this, as well as his use of unnecessarily large and formal words while "interfacing" with people or referring to his "automobile."

We will never know how many of his smart-alec answers left kids confused about so many things. Like the neighbor who was given a milkshake, and told upon asking, that was called "chair." Or the daughter who asked what that drink was coming out of the fountain, and was told "whiskey." And the son who asked where we're going, and the answer was always "Hutzaplutz!"

Even in his final years, living in memory care, Earl was always so polite and appreciative to everyone who helped him in any way. He charmed them all so much, and they all cared about him so much that they are as sad as we are by his passing.

The memorial service will be held at Temple Isaiah in Fulton MD this Sunday, April 6, at 4 pm.

Link to the streamed service: https://templeisaiah.org/prayer/livestream/

Shiva will be observed:

- Mon, April 7, 6:30-9pm, with minyan service at 7, at the Markowitz home.

- Tues, April 8, 4:00-9pm, with minyan service around 7, at Evan Glickstein's home.

- Wed, April 9, 6:30-9pm, with minyan service at 7, at the Markowitz home.

(Addresses to be provided / Free street parking at both houses)

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to alz.org.