John Glenn, 54, self-taught musician was a guitar collector

John Glenn’s love affair with guitars started when his parents bought him one while he was a teen.

As an adult, the self-taught musician collected vintage guitars and amplifiers. He joined a band, too. The “First Offenders” played small venues in the Buckhead area.

John Glenn was "the best fan ever," said his niece.

When the group played cover songs, band mates came to depend on Mr. Glenn. He had an ear for notes and musical arrangements, said Mary Widenmann Glenn, his wife of 15 years.

“He loved playing — that was his go-to recreation,” she said. “And he kept getting better. He would not have said he was good, but he did come up with some interesting riffs.”

Mr. Glenn’s humble approach to music was a constant in his life, be it business or family. It’s the way he ran the John Glenn Co., a business that supplied piping materials to contractors. And when it came to his nieces and nephews, he supported whatever endeavors they pursued without overshadowing them.

His niece, Campbell Glenn of Nashville, played lacrosse, ran cross country and cheered at Westminster. Usually, Uncle John was in the stands.

“He was a big runner, so he would come to my cross country meets, everything,” said Ms. Glenn, a rising senior at Vanderbilt University. “He was the biggest fan, but he had a quiet, supportive way about him.”

John Melvin Glenn Jr., 54, of Atlanta died Monday of nonsmokers’ lung cancer at his home. The funeral is 10 a.m. Friday at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill, is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Glenn grew up in Richmond and Memphis. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South, where he was captain of the cross country team. After college, he worked in industrial sales and management for ITT-Grinnell in Richmond and Atlanta. He started his own company in 1994.

Mr. Glenn began running as a teen. It was his way, his wife said, to combat asthma. As an adult, he ran marathons.

In the community, Mr. Glenn stepped forward when no one wanted to preside over a fractious homeowners association for Ridgemore Heights, a community near Moore’s Mill Road.

Additional survivors include his parents, John and Waynette Glenn of Franklin, N.C.; a son, Britton Stanhope Butler of Atlanta; a sister, Susan Sullivan of Knoxville ; and two brothers, Wayne Glenn of Huntsville, Ala., and Lawson Glenn of Atlanta.