Mass of Christian Burial
Church of the Incarnation-
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3817 Pleasant Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55409
Sharon Renee Tolbert Glover
February 22, 1940 — September 21, 2018
Sharon Renee Tolbert Glover
Dr. Sharon Tolbert Glover, 78, passed away on Sept 21, 2018. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gleason Glover; her parents, Carl Sr. and Pearl Tolbert, and her brothers Carl Jr. and Dr. George Tolbert, MD . She is survived by her sisters Dr. Carlene Bawden, Darlene (Mickey) Palmer, Sue Clay and Phyllis (Earl) Barnes. She also leaves behind nephews and nieces Robert Jr. and Sharon Crumpton, Courtney Tolbert, Lori Carroll, Michelle Tolbert Ploss, Carole Floyd, Eileen Hendrickson, Ashley, Derrick, Anthony, Raymond, Matthew and Lewis Tolbert, Terri Palmer Johnson, Jonathan, Tobi, and Molly Palmer, John and Cortland Stewart, Dr. Maisha Barnes, MD, and Byron Barnes; step children Gleason (Andrea), Maury (Tom) and Stephanie Glover, and step grandchildren Genevieve and Germaine Glover.
At the age of 15, Sharon entered the convent of the Servites of Mary at the mother house in Blue Island, Illinois. Upon completion of 10 years of training, Sharon took her final vows as a nun, Sister Mary Desales. However, when she was assigned to an all-white parish in the Chicago suburbs, the community refused to accept an African-American nun. Soon after, her Mother Superior and two other new nuns who had trained with Sharon resigned from the order in protest; Sharon, too, left after a second assignment.
Sharon's passion for education defined both her life and her career. She graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York with a Bachelor of Arts in 1968. While attending school there as the only African-American woman in her class, she verbally sparred with legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, who had stopped at the school on a speaking tour. During his speech, Ali
preached about the separation of races but Sharon stood up in the audience to challenge him in a fiery exchange that was reported by the local and student newspapers, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and, recently, USA Today. In its centennial history, Canisius College awarded Sharon a "knock out".
Sharon went on to earn Master's Degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo and from Stanford University, where she also earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education. Sharon worked at a number of schools including historically black colleges, Paine College in Augusta, Georgia and Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. She also held positions at the College of St Catherine, the University of California Berkeley, The Minnesota Community College System, as well as The St. Paul Companies and The University of Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
In 2000, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis recruited Sharon to reopen the historic St. Peter Claver Catholic School in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood, the capstone of her career. As a former nun, being the school's principal combined her deep spirituality with her belief in
education, particularly for students of color.
Sharon has been featured in Who's Who In America, Who's Who in Black America, and Who's Who In American Women. She also served on the Boards of Directors of Catholic Charities of The Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minneapolis Girl Scout Council and Twin Cities Public Television, among others.
In addition to her husband and family, the great loves of Sharon's life were her precious pooches, Buffy, Pierre, Tony and finally Sophie. They brought her much joy and happiness in her years on this earth and at times she seemed to like them more than some people. Sharon was smart, strong, independent, outspoken, and generous almost to a fault. We will miss her but take comfort knowing she is in heaven with her parents, brothers and beloved GG.
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