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Susan Glennon, 39; taught in Phila., Chester, S. Jersey

Susan Helene Shovlin Glennon, 39, an educator formerly of Drexel Hill, died of a pulmonary embolism Nov. 27 at Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Fla., where she had lived for the last four years.

Susan Helene Shovlin Glennon, 39, an educator formerly of Drexel Hill, died of a pulmonary embolism Nov. 27 at Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Fla., where she had lived for the last four years.

Mrs. Glennon grew up in Drexel Hill. From seventh through 12th grade she was a scholarship student at Merion Mercy Academy, a girls' school operated by the Sisters of Mercy.

A talented pianist, she was involved in the music program there and, as a sophomore, founded Kate's Girls, a service club named for Sisters of Mercy founder Catherine McAuley. Club members "adopted" retired nuns, playing bingo with them and keeping them company. The club remains active, said Mrs. Glennon's mother, Helene Shovlin.

After graduating in three years with a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Catholic University in 1991, Mrs. Glennon married her college sweetheart, David Glennon.

She taught in elementary schools in North Philadelphia and Chester, was a saleswoman for an educational-materials company, and for six years taught fourth and fifth graders at Edison Elementary School in the Haddon Township School District. While working, she earned a master's degree in education from Eastern University in St. Davids.

From 2003 to 2005, Mrs. Glennon was supervisor of educational programs at Independence National Historical Park.

Since moving to Naples, she taught social studies at Cypress Palm Middle School. Many of her students attended her funeral in Florida last week, her mother said, and spoke about how she had given them confidence and treated them as though they were her children.

Mrs. Glennon had a pilot's license and was a member of the Ninety-Nines, an organization of female pilots. She and her husband enjoyed travel abroad and loved the warm weather and sunsets on the beach in Florida, he said. She kept in touch with former Merion Mercy schoolmates and attended Tampa Bay Buccaneer-Eagles games to root for her former home team, he said.

In addition to her husband and mother, Mrs. Glennon is survived by her father, Neil, and a sister, Sharon.

A Memorial Mass will be said at 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Bernadette Church, 1035 Turner Ave., Drexel Hill, where friends may call after 9.

Memorial donations may be made to the Merion Mercy Academy Scholarship Fund, 511 Montgomery Ave., Merion Station, Pa. 19066.