Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Pierre, Gloria E. Abiouness January 31, 2024
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Robert Woolfitt http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00034.html#0008401 February 3, 2025, 3:42 pm

Virginian-Pilot February 25, 1024
Gloria E. Pierre (née Abiouness), 95, peacefully passed away January 31, 2024, 
in her Norfolk home.
Born in Norfolk to Violette and Younis Abiouness, immigrants from Lebanon, and 
raised within a loving home and tight-knit community, she developed strong 
family values and deep religious convictions. It was from her love of God that 
everything flowed in her life.
Gloria was a graduate of Dunbarton College, Washington, D.C., B.A. English, 
where the sisters of the Holy Cross instilled in her a hunger for justice and 
taught her to precisely articulate how policies fulfilled or undermined ethical 
and legal considerations.
Following graduation, Gloria planned a career in journalism but was recruited by 
the U.S. State Department where she served in the International Educational 
Exchange Services. She was an advisor to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO 
on Youth and Student Affairs. From 1955-61, Gloria served in the U.S. Embassy in 
Canada with a variety of responsibilities and ultimately rose to become Consul 
and Second Secretary. In 1961, she became the Executive Assistant to the 
President of Marianopolis College in Montreal.
From 1968 until her retirement, Gloria specialized in postsecondary education 
affairs in Canada. She wrote extensively for multiple educational journals and 
papers which led to her becoming the Editor and Publisher of University Affairs, 
the newsmagazine of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, that 
she ran for 20 years. For her outstanding efforts in this role, Gloria was 
awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New Brunswick in 
1991.
Although she treasured her career in Canada, after the death of her mother (her 
father having died a few years earlier), Gloria decided to split her time 
between her childhood home in Norfolk and Newport, Vermont at her home on Lake 
Memphremagog. Gloria participated in parish life in both places. At Blessed 
Sacrament Church in Norfolk, she served on the Justice and Peace committee and 
as a lector and Eucharistic Minister. She spent countless hours volunteering in 
the community and sharing her joy for reading as a tutor for elementary 
students. She also enjoyed the theatrical and visual arts.
Preceded in death by her parents and dear brother, Alfred E. Abiouness, and ex-
husband Francois Charles Pierre, she is survived by her beloved nephew, Alfred 
Abiouness, niece, Nicole Abiouness (Bodhi), and sister-in-law, Kay Abiouness. 
She is also survived by her cousin, Peter Abiouness, his wife, Leigh, and their 
children, Lauren, Lindsay and Leigh Anne, as well as cousin Nayla Debbas Ajjoub, 
godson, Freddy Ajjoub, and cousin Fadi Debbas, wife Nayla, and children.
There will be a Mass of the Resurrection for Gloria and visitation at Blessed 
Sacrament Church in Norfolk, Virginia, at a future date announced in The 
Virginian-Pilot. In lieu of flowers, Gloria requested donations be made to The 
Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia or The Vermont Foodbank.
She was a vibrant, intelligent woman who was a true activist for others and 
treasured her family and friends.


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