McNeil (Mickey) Glassburn

On Sunday, November 20, 2022, McNeil (Mickey) Glassburn, loved and loving husband and father passed away at the age of 80.
Mickey was born on October 10, 1942, in Phoenix, Arizona to Marge and Neil Glassburn. He became a Registered Land Surveyor in June of 1970 and held licenses in 5 different states. He ran his own land surveying company, C&M Land Surveyors Inc, with his wife Carolyn, until his death. He married his wife of 61 years, Carolyn Canty in February of 1961 and they raised two daughters, Machelle, and Melissa Glassburn
Mickey was truly one of a kind! You always hear people say that “everybody loved him,” but with Mickey that was genuinely true. Even people that only spoke to him on the phone once, have reached out and told his family what a great guy he was. He was the epitome of integrity. If he gave you his word, he would go above and beyond to honor it. He passed this code of honor down to his children and his grandchildren. He was loving, generous, kind, honest and funny. He always would leave people laughing, it didn’t matter if it was a waitress, a clerk, or a random stranger, they always walked away laughing. He loved to play the drums and he was an amazing dancer. His poor wife hardly got to dance with him because the girls were always lined up waiting their turn! As a land surveyor he left his mark on the world. He surveyed what would become the town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He personally laid out the site for the world-famous London Bridge. When he was laying out the site, it was actually on solid desert ground, once the bridge was built, they dug out the channels underneath it for the water to flow. He surveyed the town of Fountian Hills, AZ. Once again, he took, dry desert land and laid out a lake and, at the time, the tallest fountain. He passed on his skill and knowledge to many young men, including his two grandsons, who went on to have very successful careers as land surveyors. He was one of the most laid-back people you could ever meet. Once on a family trip we missed the exit for the road we wanted to take to get to Disneyland. We were pulled over on the side of the westbound I-10 and one of the family members was throwing a fit and Mickey calmly told him, “We’ll just keep heading west and if we hit the ocean, we’ll turn left.” That pretty much summed up his approach to life, don’t let things bother you and figure out a solution! One of his grandsons summed it up perfectly, he said, “you have to have known Pop to understand how special he really was, because if you didn’t know him, you can’t possibly understand because words don’t do him justice.” He is very much loved and very much missed.
Mickey is survived by his loving wife, Carolyn, his daughters, Machelle, Melissa and Tammie, his grandsons Justin and Jared, sister Jan, brother Martin and several nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
The family plans a Celebration of Life in Mickey’s honor sometime in February of 2023.