A Couple That Gives Back Together

By Mimi Pollack

SAN DIEGO — The volunteers for August are a couple who feel fortunate to have found each other later in life, June Rubin and Gary Gleckman.

Gleckman, a widower with one son and Rubin, who is divorced, both braved dating apps and as they say, miraculously met each other four years ago.  Gleckman, 74, and Rubin, 70, have been inseparable ever since. They have traveled the world together and Gleckman has assisted Rubin in some of her volunteer adventures as an art teacher.

Rubin is a well-known artist in San Diego who opened a studio at Liberty Station 15 years ago. As Rubin says, “I enjoy expressing my love of nature, people, cats, Godzilla, and sharing my whimsy in my art as well as sharing wonderful memories from my world travels.” She also likes giving back and over the years has offered numerous free art classes and workshops for both children and adults.

Her latest one that Gary assisted in was a Mother’s Day workshop where she guided fathers and children in making the perfect Mother’s Day cards. It gives Rubin joy to bring her art to others through her hands-on guided workshops.

My personal favorite are her gorgeous cat cards which she sells online and at her studio. Although she is allergic and has no cats of her own, she enjoys painting other people’s cats or cats she has encountered on her travels, like the famous cats of Turkey. Her website at Liberty Station is June Rubin Studio | Liberty Station | San Diego, CA

Gleckman, a retired teacher and union organizer, also volunteers his time reading perspective scholarship applications for colleges and universities.

Here are some questions I asked them.

Q: Tell me both about your volunteer work. Why do you volunteer? What motivated you to start?  Where do you volunteer and what do you do?  Any memorable moments?

Gary: My overall philosophy of life is that we are in this life to make a difference and hopefully leave it better than what we found it. This philosophy motivated me both in my career choice as a teacher and volunteering. In my career, I participated in numerous extracurricular activities.

One of these was as a union officer representing my peers. Upon retirement I continued participation (with my union partner Judy Quinton). We helped establish and grow a union retirement organization. As co-presidents we provided opportunities for retired educators to reconnect with peers, participate in workshops (e.g., political discussions, travel opportunities using frequent flyer miles, hikes & walks. etc.)

I also serve as a reader for alumni scholarships for UCLA and San Francisco State. And since I met June, I have assisted with June’s free art workshops at Liberty Station.

While no longer actively involved in the union retiree association, we left it a vibrant and active group. I am still actively reading scholarship applications when asked.  Finally, one of the most recent memorable moments was witnessing the joy of the participants at June’s workshops.

June: I am a passionate artist, and I love to share art making with others young and old. I was motivated by my desire to share my love of art with others.  For the past fifteen years through San Diego Watercolor Society at Liberty Station, I have been part of the Education Outreach volunteer group. I was one of the first to give art classes to local elementary school classes. Additionally, as Gary mentioned, I offer free periodic  hands-on art workshops (watercolor, collage, sticker art).

During a recent Mother’s Day card workshop, the joy of seeing Dads with their daughters & sons making a surprise card for Mom was a real treat!

Q: June, tell me a little about yourself and your life. Are you from San Diego?  Have you always made your living as an artist or have you done other things, too?  What motivates you as an artist?

I am originally from New York City but have lived in San Diego since 1961 (except for a year studying in Jerusalem from UC Berkeley’s junior year abroad).

Since graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, I have worked as a freelance illustrator, art director for a giftwrap company and later opened my art studio in Liberty Station 15 years ago. I am a working artist and art teacher.  I have also donated my time offering free art classes to public schools as well as workshops at my studio. I was honored for being a longtime volunteer. My motivation is to bring joy to others though art and sharing.

Q: Gary, please tell me about you and your life. Are you from San Diego?  What did you teach and how did you get into that? How long did you teach and where?  When did you start your union work and what motivated you to do that?  What were your successes? Did you and Judy start San Diego Adult Educators?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles but lived in Sacramento & San Francisco before settling in San Diego.

While trained as a history & political science instructor, I was recruited to teach in the San Diego Community College District Continuing Education division, working with students who dropped out of high school.  Working with students whose ages ranged from 17 to 70, I taught GED and high school completion courses (math, English, social studies etc.) Concurrently I worked as an adjunct reading specialist for Southwestern College. My career spanned over 35 years as both an adjunct and contract instructor.

My union work began as a site representative for ECC and eventually led to becoming a co-president and chief negotiator. I was motivated by my desire to represent my peers as one of the few who had a contract and experience as an adjunct. We were most proud of directly serving our members, fighting for benefits for adjuncts, and on a national level fighting for teacher’s inclusion in Medicare. While Judy & I did not start San Diego Adult Educators, we spent over 15 years in leadership positions.

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In my opinion, Gleckman is being modest. As someone who taught for the same district for 35 years [SDCCD Adult or Continuing Education], I remember both him and Judy Quinton fighting for part-timers. Gleckman taught ABE and GED, and I was an adjunct English as a Second Language teacher. Our district was one of the few that offered health insurance to part-timers.

To quote Gretchen Bitterlin, the former chairperson of ESL for all six adult centers at SDCCD, “I know Gary very well. He was President of our teacher’s union for many years and steered us correctly to become part of the AFT.  He is a supreme strategist who served us well for many years and also was a brilliant ABE/GED instructor. Instead of alienating himself from administration, Gary was a pro at building positive relationships with our administrators.  This helped him negotiate a better deal for faculty and staff.”

Q: Anything else you would like to add?  What do you both do for fun or to relax?

We love to travel and attend concerts and theater. We enjoy the company of good friends and family and laughing together. We hope to have many years together doing so.

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Mimi Pollack is a freelance writer based in La Mesa, California.