Baylor Community Mourns Death Of Glennis McCrary Goodrich
The Baylor University community mourns the loss of longtime supporter Glennis McCrary Goodrich, who died recently. Graveside services were held Saturday, July 7, at the Rose Hill cemetery in Tyler.
"Glennis McCrary Goodrich was a loyal alumna and generous benefactress to Baylor University," said Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. "She was a strong supporter of the arts, and her generosity has left an indelible mark on the campus, the students, the faculty and the staff of Baylor University. We join with her family and friends in mourning this loss."
A magna cum laude graduate of Baylor with a degree in English, McCrary Goodrich was the daughter of Vinnie Edwards and Robert Hardee McCrary, a prominent East Texas family of Winnsboro, Texas. A Baylor student during the late 1920s, she was a member of the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta, Alpha Omega sorority and was selected a senior beauty. She also served as captain of the Baylor women's football team, the first co-educational football team in the world.
Following graduation from Baylor in 1929, McCrary Goodrich continued her education in New York, working on a master's degree in English. She returned to Texas to teach high school English in Winnsboro for three years.
She married Baxter Dee Goodrich, president and CEO of Texas Eastern Transportation Corporation and later chairman of the board, and spent most of her adult life in Houston, where she was known as the "Rose Lady of Houston" for her frequent presentations of pink sweetheart roses to international dignitaries.
An astute businesswoman, McCrary Goodrich managed her own business affairs following the death of her husband and focused much of her philanthropy on Baylor. She provided the majority of funds for the Glennis McCrary Music Building, which opened in 1993 and houses the Glennis McCrary Room that is filled with her collections of art, Doughty birds, crystal and antiques. She also generously contributed to the Armstrong Browning Library and endowed a music scholarship that annually provides financial support to 20 or more Baylor music students.
In 1984 she received the W.R. White Meritorious Service Award in recognition of her contributions to Baylor. Additionally, she was a past recipient of the James Huckins, Pat Neff and Presidents Medallions and was awarded the Founders Medal in 1990.