Marian Mercer Glade

Marian had a long, full eventful life. She was born in Niagara Falls, New York, the second daughter of the minister at the First Baptist Church. At the age of 4, the family moved to Providence, Rhode Island where her father was pastor at the Fourth Baptist Church. Marian graduated High School in Providence and enrolled in the Baptist Institute for Christian Workers in Philadelphia. She studied there for 3 years to become a Director of Christian Education before transferring to The Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, where she received her Bachelors of Religious Education degree.

After graduation, while working at the Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Connecticut as a Director of Religious Education, she was offered a job in New York City. She worked for the Department of Missionary Education for Children. When her old roommate moved to New York, they found a family apartment with four other girls on 116th Street, down the street from Riverside Church. At that church was the Riverside Guild, an organization of young adults (18-35) living and working in the city. It was there that she met Otto Glade.

Otto was a writer and journalist who had graduated from Columbia University and was working as a news writer for NBC in New York. He met Marian at Riverside Church and married her on October 15, 1949. They moved to East Orange, New Jersey where Otto was editor of the East Orange Record and Marian worked at the First Baptist Church.

Otto decided he was not going to make a lot of money with a weekly newspaper and he applied for a job with ESSO (now Exxon Mobil) working first in Bayonne, New Jersey. ESSO then offered Otto overseas assignments where the adventures began with 2 young boys and a 3 week old infant. The family lived and worked around the world with assignments in Tehran, Iran, Caracas, Venezuela and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She along with Otto and family loved overseas travel, and travel they did. Going to and from those overseas assignments, even after Otto retired in 1983 they kept traveling, going to every continent except Antarctica. They enjoyed Elderhostel and Grand Circle trips to places like Kenya, South Africa and The South Pacific. They had a great love of the Beach and enjoyed annual summer family reunions at Destin, Florida.

Marian was active in The American Field Service, serving as chairman of student selection and family placement for Southeast Texas. She remained active in Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, a member for 52 years.

Otto died 10 years ago in 2005. Marian lived at The Buckingham, a Life Care community in Houston.

Marian and Otto had three sons, Mark and wife Cathy in Plano, Texas. They have two daughters. Gary and wife Tonya live in Riverside, California. Gary has four daughters. Dean and wife Katherine in San Antonio, Texas, have three daughters. Marian now has 9 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She is also survived by a brother, Charles Mercer and his wife Marie, in Reston, Virginia.

Marian had 92 years of a very full, active, interesting life to be celebrated. She was dearly loved by many and will be greatly missed by all.