Glen Cain

Madison - Glen G. Cain, aged 81, Madison resident since 1963, passed away suddenly on Monday, November 24, 2014.
Glen was born November 24, 1933 in Chicago to John and Anna Cain and grew up in Gary, Indiana. Glen's father died when he was just two years old; Glen was raised by his mother and step-father, Dan Beader, who he always knew as "dad." The family struggled through the Depression, but always valued hard work and education.
Glen was a particularly bright and devoted student, skipping two grades and graduating from high school at the age of 16. To supplement the family income and save for college, Glen worked as a house painter for his beloved uncles. Even after becoming a tenured Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin, Glen would never forget his humble upbringing or this useful skill, doing much of the painting in the house he built with his wife Ria on Madison's near West Side in 1967, and a house he helped his daughter Paula buy many years later.
But Glen's incredible intellect and dedication to scholarly pursuits foretold a different career path than house painter. He attended Lake Forest College, playing on the basketball team and graduating second in his class and Phi Beta Kappa in 1955. It was also at Lake Forest that he met his future wife and the great love of his life, Ria Castellanet. Glen and Ria were married in February 1958 and would have celebrated their 57th anniversary in 2015.
After graduating from Lake Forest, Glen went to the University of California - Berkeley where he earned a Master's Degree in Industrial Relations in 1957. Then it was back to the Midwest where Glen and Ria got married and Glen began working at the Federal Reserve in downtown Chicago. But Glen decided he wanted a bigger challenge. He applied and was accepted to the University of Chicago where he earned his Ph.D. in Economics in 1963, studying under Milton Friedman and other notable economists, some of whom became Nobel Prize winners. Upon graduation, Glen was offered a tenure-track position at the University of Wisconsin and moved to Madison with his wife and young son. The family would grow to three children with the addition of two daughters.
Glen left an important legacy in his chosen field. His dissertation, published in 1966, was titled Married Women in the Labor Force and described one of the most important trends in the U.S. economy in the post-World War II period. Glen worked closely with the U.W.'s Institute for Research on Poverty and was a prolific writer, authoring articles, papers and chapters in books on labor economics. Some of his professional and volunteer affiliations included service on the National Commission on Employment and Unemployment Statistics; the Advisory Panel to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission; the Board of Directors of the National Bureau of Economic Research; and on Lake Forest College's Board of Trustees. Glen was also editor of the Journal of Human Resources. Glen retired from the U.W. in 1995, although he remained active in his research and continued to work closely with the U.W. graduate students he mentored and cared so much about in the economics program.
In recent years, Glen enjoyed a full life filled with the many friends cultivated over his years in Madison, and close relationships with his wife, three children and seven grandchildren in Madison and Chicago. Glen loved to read, talk baseball, listen to jazz, and work on crossword puzzles with his wife Ria. Glen always made time for the people he cared about. He had a big heart, a gracious and loving spirit, great compassion for humanity, and a strong sense of social justice. He was extremely generous, giving freely and frequently to a wide range of organizations, charities and friends he held dear. He left a deep impact on his family, friends and many students. He will be greatly missed.
Glen is survived by his wife, Ria Cain; three children - Steven Cain, Paula Cain, and Leah (Paul) Thenstedt; seven grandchildren - Crystal, Cameron Glen, Alexander, Maria, Tyler, John and Tony; a sister, Peggy Jancovich, in Crown Point, Indiana; and nieces, nephews and cousins. Glen was preceded in death by his parents, Anna, John (Cain) and Dan (Beader); and by his older brother, John Cain.
A Celebration of Glen's loving and productive life will be held at Cress Funeral Home on Madison's West Side, 3610 Speedway Road, on Sunday, November 30, 2014. Visitation with the family will be held from 11 a.m. to noon, and a service will follow.
In lieu of flowers, an act of kindness to others or donation to a charity of your choice would best honor Glen's spirit and memory.


Cress Funeral Service
3610 Speedway Rd
Madison, WI 53705
608-238-3434