Yazoo City lost one of its most faithful former employees with the death of Frances Pearce last week at age 91.
Pearce saw a lot of change in her 38 years of service to the city, serving for six different mayors and three city clerks. She served as a deputy city clerk and bookkeeper for the city.
When Pearce first came aboard, there were no computers and sophisticated programs to keep things in balance. In the early days the city clerk’s office even handled the finances for the city schools from making purchases to keeping the books.
“We did just about anything that pertained to the city,” Pearce recalled in a previous interview.
Many things changed over time, and Pearce changed with them, but one thing that never changed was her positive attitude.
Pearce was a lifelong Yazoo County resident. She married Yazoo County native Lamar Pearce in 1954. Five years later, they had their only child, Leslie Lamar Pearce.
Pearce worked for an accountant for almost 19 years before being hired by the City of Yazoo in 1969. She retired in 1994 after 25 years of service, but then went back working part time until 2007.
“I guess I never really left working for the city,” Pearce said in a 2009 interview.
During her 38 total years of service she served as the city’s primary bookkeeper and accountant.
“I basically handled the city’s finances,” Pearce said in a previous interview. “I was also financial advisor to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.”
Funeral services were Saturday with her niece Katherine Stokes officiating.
