Ed Gleibs gained a reputation at West High School as “everyone’s friend.” He would not allow his friends to make derogatory remarks to girls and how through the years they never forgot his stand in the classroom for them. He has remained lifelong friends with many alumni and especially enjoys the Florida West High School All-Class Reunions.

Gleibs’ office houses a photograph of a West High baseball team. The glossy was presented several years in thanks for his help in reducing the team’s debt. Ed would be the first to tell you he went to school to play baseball and football. When his mother refused to sign his football form in the ninth grade, fearing he would get injured, he skipped school until a principal called. His father the intervened, a decision that worked out for the redirected son and West High. Ed was chosen for the All City and Dispatch Football Team in the fall of 1951.

Gleibs signed up for Naval Service during the Korean War on his 18th birthday He traveled the Mediterranean and developed a love of travel in Europe, which he would be fortunate to revisit many times. Ed never forgot the Salvation Army greetings of free coffee when they had shore leave. He now donates to their many causes.

Gleibs attended Ohio State University, later transferring to Franklin University, so he could work a full-time job while continuing his studies. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Franklin, he worked for Robertshaw Control in Milford, Conn.

In 1969 he founded TransData Inc. for energy measurement technology for utilities and large commercial customers. The company, which moved from Dublin, Ohio to Carrollton, Texas in 1987, manufactures and does research and design for new product patents. The company has won many awards, including one from thhe U.S. Department of Commerce for work in the global market. Maybe entrepreneurship runs in his blood. The family claims ancestral ties to John Jenkes, the holder of the first patent in the New World.

Since his retirement, the company has continued under the leadership of his children, E.J. “Trace” Gleibs and Becky Foster. Memberships and charities include: First Presbyterian Church, where in 1959 he married Joan Paver; Masoic Lodge 873, Shriners Hospital, President’s Club, The Ohio State University; Life Member OSU Alumni Association; Life Member West High Alumni Association; Salvation Army Holiday Dinner; and Buckner Children’s Home and Outreach Program.

Update: Mr. Gleibs died April 27, 2012 in Texas.