Pamela Rae Gidden Zapata, 82 of Brevard, NC

Pamela passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 13, 2024.  She was born in Englewood, New Jersey on June 11, 1941, to Nancy and Germain G. Glidden, the first of three daughters, Christine Dale, 2 years younger and Dianna Glidden, 11 years younger.  She attended Wheeler prep-school in Providence, Rhode Island before living in Switzerland for a year where she became fluent in French, the first of her trilingual accomplishments. Pam began a full-time job at the United Nations where she married Mario Zapata where she then became fluent in Spanish. Together they raised their two sons, Alex and Mario, who she taught how to drive, to play tennis and to be better people.  She was, herself, an avid tennis player and golfer, winning a golf tournament in Costa Rica just last November.

Pam later attended college and achieved a BA degree in Anthropology and MSE in Bi-lingual Counseling at Hunter College in NYC. Another major accomplishment during her career was as a global volunteer for the United Nations as she had a tremendous appreciation for different cultures around the globe. She dedicated over 35 fulfilling years with the United Nations participating in missions during the war in the former Republic of Yugoslavia, referendum work in the Western Sahara and assisting with the first democratic election in Mozambique. Pam was always indebted to the wonderful professors and education at Wheeler and then, Hunter. She believed these two educational institutions are both wonderful mirrors of the world, its cultures, diversity, and spirit.

Pam was a recent transplant from the seascapes of Hilton Head, South Carolina, where she was a bilingual counselor at a Volunteers in Medicine Clinic for over 13 years before moving to the beautiful mountains of Brevard. She enjoyed retirement life here in Brevard and in Costa Rica for the last several years with her beloved partner and best friend, Allan Meahen with whom she spent the last 23 years traveling all around the world together. Pamela was generous with her time, and was determined to make wherever she lived, a better place.  She is survived by her two sons, two grandsons, Adrian and Luciano, sons of Alex Zapata and her sister, Dianna Glidden.

The world will now be a poorer place without her.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Online condolences may be left at www.moodyconnollyfuneralhome.com.