Gloria Delaney

In Loving Memory - Gloria Helen Delaney

Age 92, died peacefully in the arms of her husband John on October 23 at their home in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

Loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, Aunt and friend, Gloria was born December 27, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York, to her parents Nellie and Reginald Nunn.  She grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from Katharine Gibbs and took her first career job at Cannon Mills, commuting to New York City on the subway from her apartment in Brooklyn, white gloves in hand.

Gloria met her husband John of 67 years when he asked her to dance at a church singles dance in New York, and they married in February 1954. They have four children (John, Kathleen, Kenneth and June), six grand children (Bree, Christopher, Matt, Katherine, Luke and Emma) and two great grandchildren (Kourtney and Noah).

Gloria and John moved a number of times as they raised their family and John progressed in his career, living in Scranton and then Bethlehem, PA, White Plains, NY, Springfield, NJ, Wilmington, DE, Plymouth, MI, Wheaton, IL and when John retired they moved to Naples and then Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Gloria and John have resided in Ponte Vedra Beach for 30 years.

Beyond loving family matriarch and friend, Gloria is remembered for many wonderful traits and talents. As a young woman she could be found on the downhill ski slopes at Stowe Vermont, then she took up golf with John and it was no surprise when she made that hole in one. She was an avid writer, reader, lover of the arts and classical music, keeper of family history and devout Episcopalian throughout her life. Gloria and John led a very active life in retirement, traveling throughout the US and Europe. Their favorite spot to escape the heat in Florida summers was amongst the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina. Gloria and John were regulars on the hiking trails near Blowing Rock. At home in Ponte Vedra you could catch them heading out for their daily walks or bike rides, or a visit to beach to enjoy the surf and ocean breeze.

Perhaps most of all and in retirement Gloria was known as an avid birder, founding the Social Birds at the Plantation Ponte Vedra, writing a birding column, leading an annual wild bird count at the Plantation and fiercely protecting the American bald eagles who would return each year to a nearby nesting spot in the Plantation. A visit to Gloria’s home was to know the nearby Osprey family, the hoot owl high up in the oak tree, or the current number of cardinal pairs at her feeder. As a dear friend recently said, it was on the wings of birds that Gloria entered the glory of heaven.

A small private funeral is planned for Gloria this Saturday, October 30. A Memorial Service and reception celebrating Gloria’s life is planned for Friday, January 14, 2022, at Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Donations can be made to the charity of choice, or in Tribute to Gloria Delaney to the Mayo Clinic, https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/donateMC