Suffolk News-Herald

Sidney Glee, a 1959 graduate of East Suffolk High School, has been named a &uot;Distinguished Alumnus of Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C., and he will be honored Saturday, May 10, during Commencement Weekend at the University Memorial Union. He will also be honored May 9 with a reception held in the J.A. Grimes Lounge at the Union.

Born in Madison, Fla., Glee spent his childhood years in Suffolk, and after graduation he excelled in sports and academics at Voorhees Jr. College in Denmark, S.C. He was selected as a member of the all E.I.A.C. football team, and was captain of the basketball team. He was also a member of the school’s first championship track team. As a student, he served as president of the prestigious &uot;Social Science Seminar&uot; and was president of the graduating class of 1961.

Following his graduation from Voorhees, Glees enrolled at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He graduated Cum Laude in 1963. At JCSU, Glee met his wife, the late Lydia Pearl Smalls, of Charleston, S.C.

The couple, married 36 years, shared three children, Sidney Roderick, the late Ianthe’ Tunisia, and Craig Stefan Glee.

Glee followed through on his wife’s desire to assist students from her hometown in attending JCSU by endowing a scholarship in her name. The award is presented to graduates from the high school from which she graduated.

As a professional, Glee served 29 years as a public administrator in various positions with the Washington, DC government prior to his retirement. His most notable job was his appointment by Mayor Marion S. Barry as the director of Public Housing for the District. He was responsible for managing and maintaining more than a half billion-dollar investment, composed of more than 12,00 units of housing, with more than 50,000 residents.

Glee established the first Public Housing Tenant Management program for the city, where residents were trained to manage their own properties. For this, Glee was given the highest award a member of the executive branch of the D.C. Government could receive, &uot;The City Council Resolution Award&uot; for his outstanding service to the Public Housing Department.

Over the years, Glee has been very active in the District of Columbia community and has received a number of awards from church, civic and social organizations. He has pursued other post-graduate studies in the fields of social work and urban studies at various institutions over the years. His hobbies include fishing, photography, cooking and traveling.

Glee credits JCSU for preparing him for many of the accomplishments that he has achieved. As a symbol of his appreciation to JCSU on the 40th class reunion for him and his late wife, he has endowed a second scholarship in his name to join the one endowed for his wife. He noted that the scholarships are a small token of what Johnson C. Smith University has meant to his family.