Gloria McIntyre Zucker, 73, social worker and teacher
Gloria McIntyre Zucker, 73, of Mount Airy, a social worker, teacher, and counselor, died Wednesday, Feb. 17, at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health after surgery for a newly diagnosed brain tumor.
Gloria McIntyre Zucker, 73, of Mount Airy, a social worker, teacher, and counselor, died Wednesday, Feb. 17, at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health after surgery for a newly diagnosed brain tumor.
Ms. Zucker was such a fountain of energy that her death caught those around her by surprise, said her former husband, Steven Zucker, with whom she remained friendly after their divorce in 1981.
She managed to juggle overlapping career interests in human services, education, and theology.
As a child, she moved several times with her family before settling in Birmingham, Mich., where she graduated from high school. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Alma College, also in Michigan.
In 1960, she joined the Crossroads Africa Program in Ghana, a project run by the Presbyterian Church, and was inspired to earn a master's degree in divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 1966.
She worked for the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Council of Churches in 1968, then entered the graduate program in social work at the University of Michigan, receiving her master's degree in 1971.
After marrying Steven Zucker in 1971, she moved to Philadelphia and became a social worker for Northeast Community Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center; a therapist and counselor at Lutheran Children and Family Service; a therapist for the Pastoral Counseling Center in Haddon Heights, N.J.; and a full-time counselor at the Green Tree School in Germantown for two years.
In 1979, Ms. Zucker began a three-decade career at Temple University, as a field education specialist in the School of Social Work. While there, she taught hundreds of students and helped them find suitable field placements. She retired with honors from Temple in 2010 but kept working as an adjunct professor until last year, teaching group-therapy techniques to social workers.
Ms. Zucker's longtime interest in theology bore fruit in several ways. She was active in the North Philadelphia community, working with Midtown Methodist Church. She did advanced study in pastoral counseling, and in 1999 enrolled at Eastern Baptist Seminary, later completing the requirements for a doctorate of divinity except the dissertation.
Ms. Zucker was an accomplished pianist. She enjoyed traveling and being near the ocean. In the last year, she joined a memoir-writing class.
"She was very excited about this," said Zucker. "She had lost both parents early, and those losses were very critical. She had her father's wartime letters. This was a whole part of her past she didn't know about."
Zucker said she would be missed for her generosity and sense of humor.
Besides her ex-husband, she is survived by two nieces and a brother. Two sons died earlier: Erik Zucker in 1996 and Joshua Zucker in 2005.
A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at First United Methodist Church of Germantown, 6001 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Burial is private.
Donations may be made to the Gloria McIntyre Zucker Field Education Student Award Fund, Temple University School of Social Work, c/o Angela Davis, Development Director, TASB - Third Floor, 2450 W. Hunting Park Ave., Philadelphia 19129.
610-313-8102