Gloria M. Halpern

My big sister, Gloria Halpern, died unexpectedly in a motor vehicle accident on February 11,
2005. She was 56 years old, loved by family, friends, and the Montgomery College Rockville
Campus Community. For her last 20-25 years, she taught and became Professor of Accounting
there in the Department of Business and Economics. In Gloria’s honor, the students, faculty and
friends at Montgomery College (MC) created a temporary scholarship in 2005 to commemorate
and celebrate Gloria’s impact as a professor. My mom and I then donated funds to make the
scholarship permanent by endowing it. It was our hope that the Gloria M. Halpern Endowed
Scholarship Fund would help students embrace the gift of education, with less financial burden,
in the spirit of Gloria. To me and our brother Alan, Gloria was an extraordinary big sister, an
incredible personal teacher and mentor, always generous with her time and wisdom. My mom
always thought of her as every mother’s dream. For the students who receive this scholarship,
we wanted to provide context of who Gloria was and how she impacted Montgomery College.
Through the students, Gloria’s memory, generosity, and grace will be celebrated for years to
come.
Hard work and education were a fundamental part of who she was. Gloria was born and spent
her first 20 years in Brooklyn, NY. She attended public schools from Kindergarten through the
12th grade and then received a diploma as an economics major from Brooklyn College. After
marrying Mel Halpern in 1968, they moved to the Washington DC area, where she worked as a
research assistant at the Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) while taking graduate
courses leading to a master’s degree in Education from George Washington University in 1972.
She left SEIU when their daughter Jenny was born in 1973. She did not work while Jenny and
their son Jeff (born 1976) were infants, but she took accounting classes at MC during that time
to become a CPA in about 1978. She got a teaching job at MC in about 1980 and worked there
until her death. In the 1980s, she also joined a small accounting firm but later left to start her
own small practice which continued until her death.
As a professor at Montgomery College, Gloria made a difference in the lives of students,
colleagues, and friends. Indeed, as stated at the Montgomery College Celebration of Life service
for Gloria on March 29, 2005, “[d]ignity, integrity, and hard work were Gloria’s hallmarks. A
tireless professional and consummate teacher, Gloria moved mountains making the college a
better and more humane place.” A Resolution by the MC Board of Trustees shortly after her
death stated that the death of Gloria, “beloved Professor of Accounting… has deeply saddened
the colleagues, students, and friends at [MC]…. [She] performed her duties as faculty member
and as Deputy Chair and Accounting Coordinator with enthusiasm, commitment, dedication,
and grace…she was a member of the Integrating the Women in the Curriculum Committee, the
Center for Teaching and Learning Committee, and served as Interim Dean for her academic
area… she was a compassionate teacher and mentor who cared deeply about her students, and
generously gave her time and shared her wisdom . . . [her] death represents a profound loss for
students, colleagues and friends at [MC] and in the community….” Charlene R. Nunley,
President of the MC College Foundation, Inc. stated in a letter to Gloria’s friends and family that
MC “has also lost one of its finest and most dedicated members of our College family. [Her]
devotion and commitment to her students did not stop in the classroom. Her door and heart
were always open to those that needed her encouragement, comfort, or just someone to listen.
Her wonderful sense of humor and pride in her family and students were coupled with a special
kindness and radiant smile. Without a doubt, we are blessed and our lives are fuller and richer
for just having known her…. The [MC] Foundation is honored to be the custodian of this
endowed fund which will provide assistance to the kinds of students Gloria Halpern truly loved
to teach. It will assist them in fulfilling their educational dreams and forever remind us of
Gloria’s tremendous abundance of help for others.”
The students treasured Gloria, and Gloria treasured them. Ms. Amy Hardin, the first recipient of
the scholarship in 2006 stated, “Although I missed having her as an instructor, I had spoken to
her on a number of occasions about academic and career questions. She was warm,
considerate, and full of insight, and a tireless advocate for the needs of a diverse student
population. . .. I deeply appreciate receiving this award that honors her legacy at the college of
humane excellence.”
At Gloria’s memorial service attended by over 600 people a few days after her death, a former
student who became a close friend, Fran Novelli, stated that “Gloria was the best teacher that I
ever had. She structured her class to give the best possible chance for students to succeed.
She returned daily homework immediately, always marked or corrected in a way that would
explain where you went astray. She intuitively understood where any confusion was and would
explain several different ways to make things clear to everyone.”
Gloria’s contributions to the faculty and administration were also profound. In the words of Bob
Laycock, her friend and colleague in the Business Administration and Economics Department,
she was “the backbone of the department for over twenty years.” Nancy Wiener, who served
on the Students’ Rights and Responsibilities Committee with Gloria, recalled at Gloria’s
memorial service the significant workload that Gloria took on but “did it all effectively,
efficiently, and with her wonderful sense of humor. Gloria was never afraid of more or hard
work, and she never complained…. In summary, her biggest accomplishments at [MC] were her
continuous dedication to students and their learning, and her personification of dignity,
integrity, hard work, and excellence. Never wanting to be in the limelight, she nonetheless
dazzled with her wisdom and wit, her intelligence and conscientiousness, her ethics and
compassion. Her own impeccable standards made us better people and the College a better
place. She was the brightest among gems…. Gloria was grand, great, gracious, golden, goodnatured,
gentle and generous; Gloria was indeed glorious.”
We, Gloria’s family, miss her and miss the moments we wish we could have had with her. We
are, however, grateful for the gift of her example. At her memorial service, her daughter Jenny
stated: “. . . the way that [she] lived [her] life, a life of charity, and love and kindness and faith
and hope, has not gone unnoticed…. I can only hope to live by [her] example.” Her son Jeff said
that he would like “to tell her that as proud as I know she is of Jenny, my dad, and me, I was
even more proud to have her as a mother, and so proud of the way she loved my father. She
taught me how to do so many things in life - how to love, how to reach my goals by always
working hard, how important seeking out the best education available is, how to follow my
faith, and how to appreciate everything along the way…. [Jenny and I] will be great parents
because we had great parents to learn from.” Her husband Mel said that he will always
remember how much Gloria loved her mom and dad, and “how much my wife loved our
children. She worked hard, especially during the rigors of tax season – when the strains of
having both a teaching job and an accounting practice stretched her to the limit. But she did
not mind because that helped attain our paramount goal—to educate and otherwise to better
our children’s lives… I will remember how much my wife loved her career in teaching at
Montgomery College. “
Hopefully, through the Gloria M. Halpern Endowed Scholarship Fund, the world will remember
my big sister, not only by the qualities reflected in the preceding paragraphs, but also by the
following words used by friends to describe Gloria at her memorial service: warm; stable;
trustworthy; bright; intelligent; encouraging; genuine; perfect; gentle; empathetic; kind; loving;
modest; soft spoken; self effacing; sweet; sincere; supportive; nicest person I ever met; and a
shining star that passed too quickly through our lives.