The Rev Gladys R. McCurtain's Obituary
The Reverend Gladys “Glad” Robinson McCurtain, 76, beloved wife of James “Jim” Hume McCurtain, Jr., passed away Sunday, January 21, 2024 in Clearwater, FL.
Born on August 5, 1947 in Pensacola, FL, Glad was the daughter of the late Honorable Grover Cleveland Robinson, Jr. and Isabella Fauntleroy Robinson. A graduate of Pensacola High School, Glad later attended Florida State University where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Glad graduated with her Bachelors of Arts from the University of West Florida in 1969. Over the next 25 years Glad took on many roles including City Planner, Junior League member, wife, and mother to her four children.
During these years, Glad was an avid tennis player and enjoyed playing mixed doubles with her husband, Jim, and teaching all of her children to play. She could also be found many Sundays singing and playing her guitar, leading worship music at her church, which is where she found her next calling.
In 1995, Glad was ordained as a Deacon in the Episcopal Church, serving at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Clearwater, Florida, then at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in St. Petersburg, FL. Glad went on to attend Seabury Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, where she received her Masters of Divinity. She was ordained as an Episcopal Priest in 2003 and served as the Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clearwater, FL for 10 years. Glad also served at St. Anne of Grace in Seminole, FL and Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in Clearwater, FL.
After her retirement, she enjoyed traveling with Jim, especially to the mountains of North Carolina, where she would sit for hours in a rocking chair enjoying a good view and her woodcarving. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her friends, family, and four treasured grandchildren, for whom she had boundless love.
Glad was a faithful servant of God until her final moments. She never met a stranger and welcomed everyone into her church and into her heart with her radiant smile and joyful spirit. She touched too many lives to count, and her legacy will live on in so many who were forever changed for the better by knowing Glad.
In addition to her husband, Jim, Glad is survived by her son James “Jim” (Rhonda) McCurtain, III of Atlanta, GA; her daughter Avery (Karl) Zercoe and grandson Lucas Zercoe of Clearwater, FL; her son Thomas “Tom” (Rachel) McCurtain and granddaughter Rebekah McCurtain of Clearwater, FL; her daughter Elizabeth “Liz” (Taylor Horton) McCurtain and granddaughters Emma Horton and Zoe Horton of Atlanta, GA; and her brother Thomas “Tom” Robinson of Franklin, TN. In addition to her parents, Glad was preceded in death by her brother Grover Robinson, III.
A Celebration of Life will be held on February 10, 2024 at 1:00 PM at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Clearwater, FL with a reception to follow at Countryside Country Club.
In lieu of flowers, prior to her death, Glad made a request: “Please consider participating in a ministry, program, or personal act of goodness through your time, talent and, where possible, treasure that will help others experience God’s loving presence through your bringing new hope and new possibilities.”
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