Elmira Melvin Pitchford
Elmira Melvin Pitchford was born in 1948 in Newport News, Virginia. Growing up, Pitchford resided in Salter’s Creek, in a segregated neighborhood. She attended Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Huntington High School, both of which were segregated. Pitchford became a nurse immediately following her high school graduation in 1966. Her first job in this field was at Dixie Hospital, now known as Sentara. Pitchford decided to go back to school in 2005, and graduated from Hampton University, summa cum laude. In 2009, she opened her own training school, Elmira Pitchford’s Training School, in an effort to help young people find employment and further their education.
-Interview and biographical information recorded in 2016.