Gladys Ann & Robert Loyal Ganyard

Gladys Ann Ganyard

July 15, 1934 – April 28, 2023

Robert Loyal Ganyard

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear mother Gladys Ann Ganyard on April 28, 2023. Ann was born in Falfurrias Texas on July 15, 1934. She was a “Navy kid” and lived around the country wherever her father, Hilma Garner, was stationed, eventually landing in Houston, Texas. In Houston, Ann was an executive secretary for the President of the University of Texas at Houston, church volunteer, women’s shelter director, and P.E.O. sister. It was in Houston that she met her husband, the late Robert (Bob) Ganyard. Together, along with her daughter Debra Ann Reilly, they moved to Buffalo, New York.

Ann attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in History. After the birth of their son, Clifton Ganyard, they moved to Lockport, NY, where Ann worked as a secretary at the Lockport Board of Education. She was active in their church, as a volunteer for the YWCA, and in a variety of women’s organizations. In addition to volunteering, Ann loved reading, theater, art, traveling, and cats.

After retiring in 1991, Ann and Bob traveled the US visiting historical sites and family, until they settled in Mission, TX with their Black Lab, Champ. Bob died on August 2, 1996, after a brief battle with cancer. Ann remained in Mission, TX until 2013 when she moved to Omaha, NE to be closer to her children.

Robert Loyal Ganyard passed away on August 2, 1996. Bob served in the Army from 1943 to 1946. In 1948 he graduated from the University of Buffalo and earned his master’s degree from the University two years later. He continued his doctoral studies at Duke University, specializing in American colonial history, and earned his doctorate in 1963. While studying for his doctorate, Bob had assumed teaching responsibilities at the University of Houston, where he met and married Ann in 1964. They moved to Buffalo, NY, where Bob accepted a position as professor of history. He taught large undergraduate courses and trained a new generation of doctoral students. In 1983 he completed his seven-year direction of the social sciences interdisciplinary programs and returned full time to the history department. He served as its director of graduate students from 1987 to 1990. As a scholar, he is best known for his book, The Emergence of North Carolina’s Revolutionary State Government, published in 1978. He also authored several articles and numerous book reviews. He was a longtime member of the American Historical Society and the Southern Historical Association.

At the time of his passing, Bob was survived by his wife, Ann; sons, Christopher Ganyard and Clifton Ganyard (Paula); stepdaughter, Debra Ann Reilly, M.D.; and step-grandson, Troy Ganyard. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Vernon and Nina Ganyard.

Ann is survived by her children, Debra Ann Reilly (Bob Culver) of Omaha, NE, and Clifton Ganyard (Paula) of Green Bay, WI; step-son, Christopher Ganyard of Manvel, Texas; step-grandchildren, Ashley Brinkman (Bryan) of New York City, and Christopher Culver (Akiko) of Hastings, NE.; step-great grandson, Kai Culver. She was preceded in death by her parents, Hilma and Gladys Garner; stepmother, Mary Lois Garner; husband, Robert L. Ganyard.

Services for both Ann and Bob will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 11:00 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Omaha, NE. Bob will be granted Military Honors. The family will host a “Tea” Luncheon at the Cathedral following service and a brief internment ceremony in the Columbarium. Honorariams may be sent to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Robert L. Ganyard Library Endowment, to the music program at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, or to the P.E.O. Educational Fund.