Helen Larson and Charles Glenn Grover Professorship in Ophthalmology

HELEN LARSON and CHARLES GLENN GROVER were bound not only by their great love and affection for each other, but also by their endless curiosity about the world. After meeting in Utah, they headed east and settled in the Washington, D.C., area. Equally interested in both the arts and sciences, Helen and Glenn developed many interests, including photography, sculpture, metal and woodworking, model trains, Chinese embroidery, ornamental flowers and gardening. They were also lifelong avid readers.

They built a home in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 1969 and lived there together until Helen’s death in 2000. Glenn remained in the home while he could, but eventually moved to a retirement and assisted living community. While living there, he participated in the coffee club, took a few local trips to Washington, D.C., and continued to be an avid reader of books and newspapers. Reading was his way to stay connected and ensure that he could converse with visitors.

Glenn was in his early nineties when he noticed he could no longer read the stock market pages of the newspaper. Diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at the Wilmer Eye Institute, he maintained a keen interest in his condition as it progressed and his vision worsened. Before his passing in 2012, Glenn Grover expressed the hope that his gift would benefit ongoing AMD research and help those suffering from the same disease he had. The Wilmer Eye Institute is forever grateful to Helen Larson and Charles Glenn Grover because their generosity has substantially advanced our ability to combat this major cause of blindness.

The Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce, offers a state match to private funds raised in support of endowed chairs at Maryland’s higher education institutions. The Helen Larson and Charles Glenn Grover Professorship was funded by a $1 million grant award from the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund to match the Grover Endowed Fund for Basic Science Research into Macular Degeneration, created by Mr. Grover’s bequest.