The woman with so many titles put her education to good use. Dr. Poole was the first African American Director of Nursing in Western Pennsylvania and eventually the first African American Associate Professor and Associate Chairperson in the Department of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing. From 1974-78, she held a faculty position in Pitt’s School of Education Institute of Higher Education.
In between holding teaching positions at local colleges and raising her two daughters alongside her husband, Marion Poole, Dr. Poole was passionate about many social justice causes. Over the years she participated in the NAACP, Black Nurses Association, and wrote letters to congress and presidents until the end of her life.
“She went to the polls and voted every year,” Dilworth said. “I think she would want people to know that.”
As a parent, her daughters knew her as someone nurturing, supportive, selfless, and someone whom could always be relied upon for sound advice. It seems in Dr. Poole’s retirement, she couldn’t bring herself to fully retire. At age 82, she added author to her already-impressive resume and penned a children’s book, “That Girl With Green Bean Hair.”
“Some divine inner workings seemed to always be present and moved inside her and manifested as immovable and unstoppable,” Dilworth said.
Despite her numerous accomplishments and status as a trailblazer, according to her family Dr. Poole was a humble and giving individual. She had a profound love of children and animals, both of whom she appreciated for their authenticity. This love is why, at Dr. Poole’s private memorial to be held August 19 in Penn Hills, donations to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Rescue League will be accepted in lieu of flowers.
Dilworth told the Courier that Dr. Poole donated her body and organs to the Pitt Medical School, and due to her mother’s humility, wouldn’t have wanted a large-scale funeral service. “She would have just wanted us to come together and have a little dinner, say a few things about her,” Dilworth said.
Dilworth said her mother was having heart problems the past few months.
“My best memories of her are just us talking in the living room, having conversations about everything under the sun, politics, stories about her life, things going on with me, family history,” said E.J. Sharif, son of Dilworth and grandson of Dr. Poole. “She was a wealth of knowledge and was always willing to spend time and talk with you as long as you wanted about anything.”
Dr. Poole is survived by her three daughters, Adriene Dilworth, Tenanche Golden and M Poole, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. Dr. Poole was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and a member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church.
As a once studious child told by doctors that she’d have to be still and quiet due to a heart condition, Dr. Poole did not live quietly. She was a trailblazer whose commitment to excellence was rivaled only by her dedication to helping others. Her legacy is one of determination and humility and will be deeply missed not only by her family, but likely those that she helped through her work.
“She changed views on what it was to be a Black woman, a mother and a career woman all at the same time. She was a great multitasker,” Dilworth said. “I asked her one day how she figured out how to do it. She said, ‘nobody ever told me or showed me. I just knew somehow.’”
(Rob Taylor Jr. contributed to this story)
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