I guess I have to wonder why an experienced flyer would ever schedule a 32 minute connection at EWR late in the day, connecting to the last flight of the day. I would have been shocked if she had made the connection.

Why didn't she book the GSO-IAH nonstop to begin with?

None of this excuses the attitude the OP's wife encountered, and it does appear that the delay between landing and leaving the plane was not weather related. But her problems started when she chose her original flights.