My mother, Delores Inez Pollard Carter, was born on April 22, 1927, in Princeton, New Jersey. She was an educator, social worker, and artist. In the 1940s, she earned an undergraduate degree in social work and a master’s degree in education from New York University. For over thirty years, she taught public school students and enjoyed playing the piano for them. She began her teaching career in Wilmington, Delaware. Later, upon moving to Philadelphia, she taught kindergarten students at Bache and Hamilton Elementary Schools in the Philadelphia School District.
During her retirement, Mom volunteered at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for over a decade, tutored illiterate adults, and devoted her time to Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI) by recording books and periodicals. In 2006, one of her paintings was featured on the poster for the Flower Market, the annual flower show held in Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia.
She passed away from small-cell lung cancer on January 11, 2008, after receiving exceptional care at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Mom participated in clinical trials, including Erlotinib, which extended her life for several years beyond the original prognosis while maintaining its quality.
Her legacy as a teacher endures in the countless lives she impacted throughout her career. Delores Inez-Pollard’s examples of humility, perseverance, kindness, strength, and faith continue to inspire her students, colleagues, friends, and family.
