ANTHONY Gloria Mercedes Samaniego Vargos y Ramos AnTHONY Born in La Chorrera, Panama on March 25, 1935 to Maria Mercedes Vargas y Ramos and Isidorio Samaniego Salcedo, passed away from natural causes on June 18, 2016 at Kings Grant House in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

She is survived by her three sons and daughters-in-law; Randy (Becky) of Chesapeake, VA, Eric (Karla) of Northern Virginia, Shawn (Tracey) of Virginia Beach; "adopted" son Sean (Christine) of Virginia Beach; six grandchildren; three "adopted" grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Gloria was leading a relatively uneventful young life in Panama until she met a dashing young US Army Tech Sergeant stationed in Panama. After their marriage, she gave birth to her first son. Unfortunately, during the student riots in Panama City, she and her firstborn were evacuated to the US with other American dependents in 1963. This was quite the culture change as her first meeting of her in-laws was in the depth of winter in the knee-deep snows of Brooklyn, Iowa. Assuming the mantle of stoic Army wife, her next two sons were born in California while their father was deployed overseas. During her husband''s one year tour of duty in Viet Nam in 1968, she took up writing poetry to cope with the absence and fear of her spouse''s tour. This hobby and eventual convocation blossomed into a compilation of her poetry that was published as a book of poetry in 1974. "Echoes in a Shell" reflected the trials and tribulations of a young mother of three boys with a husband that was fully in harm''s way in a foreign country. Her publication has been copyrighted and registered in the Library of Congress. After a tour of duty in Hawaii post-Viet Nam, her husband''s next duty station was the White House Communications Agency were she reveled in the glamor and glitz of being a military spouse stationed at the White House. During their tour of duty, she became actively involved in politics, supporting the presidential run of Benjamin Fernandez, befriending the esteemed Virginia Senator John Warner and his then wife Elizabeth Taylor, and becoming a confidant of the princess of Thailand. After her husband''s retirement from the military, she continued her passion for poetry, winning numerous accolades for her poetry and paintings. Looking for a new output for her creative talents, she realized her knack for identifying and rehabilitating antique furniture. With the support of her husband and his wood working skills, she created her own business named Victorian Upholstery and spent the next 20 years buying, renovating and selling antique furniture in the Northern Virginia area.

We will say our final goodbyes to Gloria at Rosewood-Kellum Funeral home on Witchduck Rd. in Virginia Beach. Gloria''s final resting place will be at Quantico National Cemetery where she will forever join her "prince".

Published in The Washington Post on June 26, 2016