NAME(S) ON TILE:                 LUELLA PEARCE CHAMBERLAIN

DONOR NAME(S):                   C.A. (CHUCK) PETERS

7 JANUARY 1902 TO 1 DECEMBER 1982

Luella Pearce was born in Allegheny City, now Pittsburgh’s north side.  Her father died when she was only five.  In those days, there was no safety net for her and her widowed mother, and as a result she spent her childhood in a succession of menial jobs and was educated only to the sixth grade.

In 1925 Luella married George Chamberlain of Trenton, New Jersey, a young engineer at a new company called the Westinghouse Corporation.  They met on a local excursion boat the “Vern Swain.”  The couple had two daughters, Luella Ann and Georgina, and settled in Baden, Pennsylvania.

Luella’s five grandchildren called her “Granny,” and she reveled in the name and role.  Despite her lack of formal education, she was an informed reader.  Deeply religious and active in her church, she nevertheless hurried home every Sunday to watch the Steelers.  Climbing up on her lap as she sat in her rocking chair, grandchildren could always find consolation.  Nothing was too insignificant for her to fret about, including how often her grandchildren had clean sheets at college.  Her plum pudding continues as a family Christmas tradition.

She witnessed dramatic changes in this city: as a child she could read a paper at midnight by blast furnace light and yet saw the mills grow dark forever.  Her children enjoyed opportunities she had never dreamt of: both daughters were graduated from college.  She was a gentle, kind, and wise woman and will be lovingly remembered.