Biography of Ms. Eliza Pillars
Ms Eliza Farish Pillars was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on April 26, 1892. She
attended public school in Jackson and Utica Junior College, Utica, Mississippi. From there, she
studied nursing at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating in 1914, she
worked as an office nurse for several doctors and in several hospitals in Jackson, Mississippi.
Ms Pillars contributed significantly to the public health work during her tenure with the
Mississippi State Board of Health. Her responsibilities were largely in two areas of public health
services: Midwifery supervision and health education in Negro schools and colleges throughout the
state. Ms Pillars did much individual and group teaching, especially in supervising non-nurse
midwives. She taught hygiene classes to students and teachers, working closely with them to improve
the health of schoolchildren. Through these courses, many young women were inspired to enter
nursing.
Ms Pillars played a prominent role after Mississippi’s historic 1927 flood. She worked
diligently with the American Red Cross to set up first-aid stations in Vicksburg and Natchez to care
for flood refugees coming down the Mississippi River from the state's Delta region. Ms Pillars also
owned and operated a small hospital in Jackson, Mississippi.
On January 25, 1957, at the Essex House in New York, Ms Pillars was the fourteenth and
last recipient of the Mary Mahoney Medal. This medal was the highest award given by the National
Association of Colored Graduate Nurses for distinguished service to nursing and the community.
The American Association now presents this award. Ms Pillars was inducted posthumously into the
Mississippi Nurses’ Association’s Hall of Fame during the observance of their Diamond Jubilee on
October 15, 1986.
As the years passed, Ms Pillars’ eyesight failed, and although she never became totally blind,
she had to give up the work that she was so committed to on September 30, 1941. She was very
dedicated because she believed her being here made a difference. Ms Pillars died on June 15, 1970,
at 78.
In 1991, Dr. Rosie Lee Calvin, President of District IV in Jackson, presented a portrait of
Miss Eliza Pillars to the Mississippi State Department of Health. Dr. Allen B. Cobb, State Health
Officer, humbly accepted the portrait, which now hangs in the Mississippi State Department of
Health Underwood Building lobby.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker