At age 100, former Easterseals director of education reflects on career helping children with disabilities
by Bridget
Beulah Moody
Beulah C. Moody, former director of education at Easterseals Western and Central Pennsylvania (previously the Easter Seals Society of Allegheny County), dedicated her 19-year career at Easterseals to helping children with disabilities achieve milestones. This July 4, she celebrates a personal milestone of her own – her 100th birthday!
“I think we helped a lot of people,” she said, reflecting on her work at Easterseals.
She remembers one 6-year-old boy in particular, who gained an entirely new perspective:
“His mother left him lying on his bed for his first six years,” she explained. “He didn’t have any hair on the back of his head because it was always against a bed or the floor. When he came to us, we did a huge amount of work with him, and attached him to a therapy board. We hoisted the board up, so that for the first time in his life, he was vertical. And the look that came into his eyes when he saw the world from that point of view – almost as if he was standing – was something I will never forget.”
Known more formally as “Mrs. Moody” to her staff, she earned a Master’s of Education from the University of Pittsburgh at age 58. She then began to teach at Easterseals, and eventually became the director of education, retiring in 1986. As she put it: “My husband and I both worked until we were 70. I think the secret of a good long life is to keep busy, and stay aware of what is going on in the world.”
Through it all, Mrs. Moody was known for her razor-sharp focus and unwavering dedication to provide quality services to the people who came to Easterseals for support.
Rosemary Smith, former director of the speech pathology department, remembers:
“[Mrs. Moody] was June Cleaver when she was married. But when she came to work, she wasn’t June Cleaver any more. When she became director of education, my gosh, there was no fooling around. She wasn’t wasting her time, your time or the kids’ time.”
Her former assistant, Gerry Burchick, also recalls her no-nonsense attitude, which shined through the very first time she officially met her:
“She had a very stern appearance. Everyone was afraid of her. And one day she approached me and asked me to work for her. I said, ‘OK, but I don’t want to get coffee for you.’ And she said, ‘Fine. I’ll get your coffee. How do you take it?’”
Mrs. Moody remains just as focused today as she was during her Easterseals days. She reads the New York Times daily, and then completes the crossword puzzle in ink. She also leads a book group, takes a pottery class and helps underserved populations in her community.
Her recollections of her 100 years of life are a collage of humor, museum-quality detail, and the peaks and valleys of an American life, most of it spent in the 20th Century.
“I was born during the First World War,” she said. “I waited four years during World War II for the man I married and worried about my son during the Vietnam War. There have been a few bumps and bruises along the way, but now, under the care of my loving son, his beautiful wife and my precious grandchildren, I would say it has been a beautiful life, and still is.”
Thank you, Mrs. Moody, for your service to Easterseals and to people with disabilities. Happy Birthday!
July 8th, 2016 at 10:26 am
Thank you so much Ms. Beulah C. Moody for all of your insite and work you have done for all who needed it. My daughter has disabilities as well. but because of the educational system she was only deemed Mentally Retarded but she also had Asperger’s syndrome as well. her age is 43 now but she was overlooked back in the 80’s trying to get a new diagnosis of Aspergers is very hard now as an adult. But Thank you so much for all that you have done and your legacy still lives on!!
Carolyn Gallaway and Casey Kope