Washington Douglass Head Start honors life, legacy of longtime teacher

JACKSON, Tenn. — A teacher at Washington Douglass Head Start passed away earlier this year, so now loved ones are coming together to have a moment dedicated to her.

Friends, family, faculty, and staff gather for a ceremony and to unveil a special plaque dedicated to a late Washington Douglass Head Start teacher Mrs. Vivian Woods Mercer who passed away earlier this year after her long fight with breast cancer.

Mercer was a 1980 graduate of South Side High School class and continued her education at the University of Memphis Lambuth with a bachelor of science in early childhood education.

Those who knew her say Mercer was known for her true light and touched the lives of many whom she came in contact with. She is also remembered as “Ms. V” for her contagious laugh, loving personality and fashionable “diva” style.

“My mom was definitely one of a kind. She was a fashion diva, very happy, and had a very contagious smile and laugh. So, anyone that she came across usually had something positive to say about her,” said Mercer’s daughter, Kelsey Ellison.

We spoke with the Washington Douglass Head Start manager, Dr. Jerry Woods, about the impression Mercer left on all of the students, staff and faculty here in the Hub City.

“Mrs. Mercer was an intricate part of the Washington Douglass Head Start center. She served more than three decades making a positive difference in the lives of our children and their families. Washington Douglass is a family and certainly Mrs. Mercer was a very, very intricate positive part of that family,” said Woods. “Empathy, compassion, sharing, learning to get along, learning to play together–those things just carry into adult life and they really are invaluable.”

Ellison says now a year after her mom’s death, this moment was perfect for her and her family on this healing journey. She says no matter what life throws at you, her mom would’ve wanted everyone to remember to still dance.

“I didn’t feel like they had to rush or anything, but I truly believe this was a day that we all needed,” said Ellison.

Visitors can see the memorial plaque for Vivian Mercer in the front entrance of Washington Douglass Head Start.

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