Wilma Baker Glass' Obituary
Glass, Wilma Baker ~ Died peacefully on February 20, 2011. At her bedside were her son Kerry, niece Vicki Minter, longtime caregiver Rena Coleman, and a Hospice nurse. Born Wilma Lucille Baker on December 9, 1917 at her parents’ farm outside Farmersville TX, she was the first in her family to attend college. She earned a teaching degree at John Brown University in Arkansas at 20, and repaid her scholarship with two years’ teaching at University-affiliated schools. Returning to Texas, she married Lochinvar Ambrose Glass Jr. (“L.A.”) of Farmersville in 1940. WW II took them to Florida, where their son Kerry was born in 1945. Wilma and L.A. raised their son in Dallas, were active in the Highland Baptist Church, and pursued their careers. Wilma taught elementary school for 32 years, 25 of them at George B Dealey School. She was a devoted teacher, remembered by students years after they left her classroom. Her home was a center for extended family gatherings and backyard parties. A Texan woman with an artistic bent, Wilma decorated her house for each new season and sprinkled her letters with drawings. She lost her husband in 1978, but spent an active retirement gardening, visiting family and friends, and keeping up an extended correspondence. She left her Van Ness Lane home in 1997 for an apartment in the Forum retirement complex on Park Lane. Her brother Bobby Baker preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister Martha Logan (Chandler AZ); her son Kerry Baker Glass and wife Susan Munro (Pepeekeo HI); granddaughter Melissa Erin Glass (Martinez CA); Melissa’s mother Linda Nellist (Eureka CA); nephew David Logan and wife Carolyn and sons Jonathan and Christopher (Gilbert AZ), niece Lisa Logan (Las Cruces NM); niece Vickie Minter and husband Robert and son Austin (Coppell TX); niece Amy Vaughn and husband Bill and son Parker (Norman OK); niece Elizabeth Cullins and husband Sean and daughter Abby (Washington OK). Wilma also remained close to her late husband’s siblings: Mildred Ochoa (Dallas TX), Eleanor Hendrex (Wylie TX), Larry Glass (Point TX), and their families. Memorial Service will be at 12:30 PM on March 1, in the Wildwood Chapel at Restland in Dallas. Visitation from 6-8 PM on February 28, at Restland. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Christian Care Fund of Highland Baptist Church, 8202 Boedeker, Dallas 75225. The following was written by: JOE SIMNACHER Staff Writer jsimnacher@dallasnews.com Published 24 February 2011 10:37 PM A bad fifth-grade experience inspired Wilma Baker Glass to become a good teacher. While enduring what she considered to be the world’s worst, most evil teacher, she vowed to become the best. The first member of her family to go to college, she taught for 32 years, including a quarter-century at G.B. Dealey Elementary School in Dallas, now G.B. Dealey Montessori. Mrs. Glass, 93, died Sunday of pneumonia in hospice care at The Forum at Park Lane in Dallas. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Restland Funeral Home, where a memorial will be in the Wildwood Chapel at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. “She was going to grow up and teach fifth grade, and she was going to be different,” said her son, Kerry Glass of Pepeekeo, Hawaii. “She was not going to be mean and evil; she was going to be the best teacher in the world. That’s when she decided to be a fifth-grade teacher.” Ron Grant said he wouldn’t be a Dallas lawyer today had he not been in Mrs. Glass’ class at Dealey Elementary in 1958. “She was wonderful,” Mr. Grant said. “She was very strict but an excellent teacher.” Mrs. Glass was born in her family’s home in Farmersville, Texas. She received her bachelor’s degree from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark. She repaid her college expenses by teaching two years in California at schools affiliated with John Brown. In 1940, she married L.A. Glass Jr. The couple lived stateside during World War II while Mr. Glass served in the Army. He died in 1978. Mrs. Glass taught in Dallas and El Paso before settling into her stint at Dealey Elementary. “She expected a lot out of us,” Mr. Grant said. “By expecting a lot out of us, we learned and learned well, which carried us into the future.” Mrs. Glass kept in touch with her former students and their families. Mr. Grant said he got a call from his old teacher when his brother, also one of her students, died. “She called me and said, ‘I saw that Buddy died, and I remember both of you. I thought I’d give you a call and see how your parents are and how you are,'” Mr. Grant said. Mrs. Glass was a member of Highland Baptist Church in Dallas. She retired from teaching in 1978. In addition to her son, she is survived by her sister, Martha Logan of Chandler, Ariz.; and one grandchild. Memorials may be made to the Christian Care Fund at Highland Baptist Church, 8202 Boedeker Drive, Dallas, Texas 75225.
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