Gloria Gilbert Rivers, was born Betty Rose Gilbert to the late Boston and Rallene Gilbert on September 19th 1937 in Hillsborough County Tampa Florida. Her name was chosen carefully and intentionally as she was the youngest daughter of a couple who had previously lost a child, Josephine Gilbert as an infant to pnemonia a couple years prior. Her grand aunt Tommie Lee Jones in fact liked the name Betty Rose so much, that she named her youngest daughter after her a year later in 1938. At a young age she had a head strong personality and a love of music and sports.

Gloria’s early education was at Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, and the Seventh Day Adventist School, where she played youth girl’s basketball. She then attended the old Middleton High School where she sang in the school chorus. She always looked up to her older sister Anne Q Winston who was 5 years her senior and recalled plenty times enjoying time with her and Anne’s friends in the local area hanging with Ray Charles listening to him play the piano.

After high school she changed her name to Gloria and left Tampa in the late 1950’s to pursue a professional music career, traveling northeast to the cities of Boston, Philadelphia and finally settling in New York City where she sang lead in a girl group called the Lorelies in the early1960’s and charted with a song entitled “A Strange Way”. Though short lived she enjoyed her music career and wasn’t shy about sharing her experiences of the music industry.

Later she met her Late Husband Jonathan(Joe Nathan) Rivers in New York City where she worked for the City of New York for social services until she retired in the year 2000. When she retired she decided to come back home to the Tampa Bay Area where her and Joe became members of Peace Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, serving as a Deaconess in support of her late husband Deacon Joe Rivers and eventually serving on the Mother Board, singing and serving with the choir were some of her favorite times.

Gloria recently relocated with her son Raheen and daughter in law in Red Oak, TX to be closer to her sister Anne and other family, when the lord called her home.She was a devoted mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She would tell anyone who would listen about her other daughter/niece Shamika Brown, that she brought home from the hospital and cared for and loved as her own. Gloria was a faithful member of the church and loved her church family with all her heart.

Joe and Gloria Rivers shared a blended family of 8+ children She is survived by her Sister Anne Q Winston, Brothers Bernard Gilbert, Kenneth Clarke, her children Raheen Rivers(Lateisha), Joe Nathan Rivers Jr, Elene Rivers (Crommedy), Lorraine(Tib) Rivers, Leslie Rivers (Beverly), Jerome Rivers, Margret Garcia, Ulysses Rivers and Kevin Ellis  ;Niece Shamika Brown; Grandchildren Jameer Rivers, Ashton London, Cameron Rivers a host of bonus grandchildren and great grandchildren cousins relatives and friends.