Harrison Byrd in Grover, North Carolina, the second of nine children. In 1923, the Byrd family moved to Philadelphia where Elvira continued her elementary schooling at Cassidy Elementary School. Her secondary education was interrupted after eighth grade when tragedy, the death of her mother, struck the family. The older children were needed to help with the young at home, and Elvira left school to
begin work. As the dream of continuing her education remained with her, Elvira started to attend evening classes. In 1944, she graduated from Standard Evening High School. Even then she envisioned herself as one day being a teacher, but the financial strain of going further with her education caused her to defer the dream. As the years passed, Elvira determined to forge her own life and focus on the field she loved - teaching. In 1958, she entered Cheyney University and three and a half years later Elvira graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. She then went on to obtain her Master’s Equivalency from Temple University. In February 1962, Elvira realized her dream and began teaching for the Philadelphia Public School System. She taught for seventeen and a half years, retiring in 1979 from Cassidy Elementary School. During her teaching career, she received many accolades for her dedication and classroom achievement. In 1979, a scholarship was given by the Ruth W. Hayre Scholarship Fund to a graduate of Overbrook High School in Elvira’s name. Overbrook High School was her neighborhood high school, just a block away from her home, and as Elvira watched the students pass her house in route to school, she saw the need to reach out to them. She decided to continue her scholarship to Overbrook students. And that she did, for the next twenty years. In order to raise funds for the scholarship, she hand crafted ceramic items and would occasionally set up a table in the corridors of Overbrook High School to sell her ceramic wares. As age began to creep into her hands, she requested aid from her family and friends. As a result, in 2000 the Elvira B. Pierce Scholarship Fund was founded to continue her important work. The quest for education and its attainment are only part of a life that has been full and active in many ways. Since 1935, Elvira has been an active member of the Holy Temple Church of God in Christ and the matriarch of her family. In 1979, Elvira was invited to become a member of the Dr. Ruth W. She joined the Student Friends Committee of this fund and served as Chairperson of the committee from 1983 - 1988. Elvira is a member of the Scholarship Fund’s Committee of 100. Elvira is a member of the National Association of University Women, Philadelphia Branch. She became a member of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Retirement Chapter upon her retirement from teaching, and in 1980 was one of the founding members of the Travel, Educational, Cultural (TEC) Committee. If there is one word which most accurately reflects the meaning of her life, it is the word “service.” Her life has been an unfolding narrative of selfless service to her family, her church, her school, her community and to humanity.
