Irene L. Pritchett

The Irene L. Pritchett Scholarship was established by Mrs. Pritchett to benefit deserving African American students. A tobacco factory worker at P. Lorillard for decades, Irene L. Pritchett believed in a better tomorrow for Black children through higher education. This visually-handicapped woman worked hard, invested her money wisely, and through her will, established this scholarship fund. The scholarship was transferred to the Community Foundation from First State Bank in 2001.

Mrs. Pritchett died on Christmas Day, 1981, at the age of 77, but her legacy will live on forever. Mrs. Pritchett and her husband, Eugene, were active in their churches and the community. She taught Sunday School and was a member of the Missionary Circle at Camp Grove Baptist Church. A life member of the NAACP and an active organizer for the Voters League, Mrs. Pritchett marched in civil rights demonstrations and helped many people in the Camp Grove community register to vote. She was arrested in 1963 for her participation in a civil rights march in Danville. The rock house where she and her husband lived at 337 Bradley Road was built by Eugene Pritchett and brick mason Leander Waddell in the 1940s. Today, the house is owned by Camp Grove Baptist Church and, through a partnership with Danville Community College, serves as the Camp Grove Neighborhood Opportunity Center, which offers GED classes, afternoon tutoring for students, and a computer lab. Mrs. Pritchett invested regularly in Standard Oil, AT&T, Boeing and many other stocks. With no children of her own, she left much of her estate to establish the scholarship fund which bears her name.