AJ’s Story

A Life Defined by Love, Kindness & Service

Writing about all the wonderful qualities that made AJ who he was is incredibly difficult, because we now have to speak of those qualities in the past tense.

Alvin Joseph “AJ” Glover was a son, friend, teammate, Scout, student, and young man whose kindness and compassion touched countless lives. At just 15 years old, AJ went to be with his Heavenly Father on April 3, 2021.

In the weeks leading up to his diagnosis, AJ had been experiencing headaches, neck pain, and episodes of vomiting. On March 11, 2021, we took him to the emergency room at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Doctors ordered an MRI, and our lives changed forever.

The MRI revealed a brain tumor called a Craniopharyngioma. Although typically noncancerous, it is an extremely rare tumor, occurring in approximately two people per million each year. AJ was immediately admitted to the hospital, and surgery to remove the tumor was scheduled for March 16.

What followed was something no parent or family could ever be prepared for.

Just like that, our 15-year-old son was gone from us here on Earth and woke up in Heaven.

A Community Inspired by AJ

In the days and weeks that followed, our community surrounded our family with an extraordinary amount of love.

Family, friends, neighbors, schools, teammates from baseball, football and swimming, fellow Scouts, our Church community, and so many others reached out with countless acts of kindness, generosity, prayer, and support.

That outpouring of love was a reflection of the way AJ lived his own life.

AJ had a gift for making people feel valued. He encouraged others, offered a helping hand, and showed kindness without expecting anything in return. His impact reached far beyond what anyone might expect from someone only 15 years old.

His loss left an unimaginable void in our family and throughout our community. But it also gave us a purpose:

AJ’s story would not end on April 3, 2021.

Carrying AJ’s Legacy Forward

The AJ Glover Foundation was created to continue the work AJ had already begun simply by being himself.

Through scholarships, youth programs, community support, acts of service, and opportunities to help others, our team and volunteers strive to be stewards of the same Love and Kindness that AJ demonstrated every day.

Every scholarship awarded, every young person encouraged, every family helped, and every act of kindness performed in AJ’s name allows his influence to continue.

AJ showed us that you don’t need a lifetime to make a lasting difference.

You simply need to care about others.