The Episcopal school world lost one of its greatest champions shortly before Christmas, when Gloria Snyder died in Dallas, TX. Upon assuming the leadership of Parish Day School in Dallas in 1980, Gloria nurtured and developed a caring and cohesive Episcopal school community, and after twenty-some years led the expansion of the school to a new campus — adding a middle and upper school — into what is now Parish Episcopal School. She was also highly involved in the larger world of Episcopal schools, being active in the Southwest Association of Episcopal Schools (SAES) as well as the National Association of Episcopal Schools. In 2008, NAES honored her with the Ruth Jenkins Award for Outstanding Service to Episcopal schools.
Her accomplishments were remarkable, but the degree to which she touched the lives of others — encouraging younger educators to consider school leadership, providing friendship and accessibility to other school heads, and giving of her time to the needs of Episcopal schools throughout the country — is likely to be her most memorable gift, indeed the one we will most miss.
Gloria loved the opportunity to interact with colleagues, and no doubt her network of friends and associates in the school world kept her view of education lively, indeed helping to sustain her through some of the tougher aspects of school leadership. She had a delightful, at times wonderfully wicked sense of humor, seeing the irony inherent in human communities and reveling in the many, sometimes contradictory dimensions of people associated with school communities.
So, too, Gloria was quick to laugh at herself, to admit confusion or be honest when she wasn’t coming up with a quick solution to a nagging problem. She carried herself with immense dignity and poise, but the twinkle in her eye always let you know she was in touch with the comic sides of life, helping her and others to keep things in true perspective.
Through it all, Gloria was unwavering in her commitment to children, and how particularly Episcopal schools could be guideposts for them of moral strength and purpose, while also retaining a humane and pastoral tone.
I recall one moment, many years ago, when Gloria sat in front of me in a Biennial Conference workshop on leadership, where three veteran school heads shared their experiences — some deeply satisfying, some immensely frustrating — and then remarked on how the fullness of those experiences helped shape them as school leaders. I began to notice how visibly moved Gloria was in hearing these presentations. Her reaction, at first, took me by surprise — after all, hadn’t this towering, veteran Episcopal school leader seen it all? Yet here she was, being deeply touched by the testimony of some of her colleagues.
Then I realized something: as deep as Gloria’s experience and stature may have been, she never lost the capacity to be moved by the stories of others. That capacity to be moved, I dare say, kept her commitment strong and her love for what we do in schools unyielding, all of those years. It was also the key for the remarkable tone she would set, all those decades, in her school.
Funeral arrangements can be found here, via the Parish Episcopal School website.
A Prayer for the Departed
O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your servant Gloria, and grant her an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.