Bird was the nanny in the family of R. Rush Lewis Sr. At the time of her death in the 1940s, Mt. Olivet was segregated, and Bird, who was black, was unable to be buried there. Rush Lewis even tried to sue the cemetery to let her be buried there but without success. She was buried on the Lewis farm instead. In 1986 the Lewis farm was sold to a motel chain and Bird was brought to the Lewis plot where she was finally able to be buried with her employers family. In attendance at the graveside service was Rush Lewis' daughter Elizabeth Peters, aged nearly 90, who was looked after by Bird as a child.
Bird was the nanny in the family of R. Rush Lewis Sr. At the time of her death in the 1940s, Mt. Olivet was segregated, and Bird, who was black, was unable to be buried there. Rush Lewis even tried to sue the cemetery to let her be buried there but without success. She was buried on the Lewis farm instead. In 1986 the Lewis farm was sold to a motel chain and Bird was brought to the Lewis plot where she was finally able to be buried with her employers family. In attendance at the graveside service was Rush Lewis' daughter Elizabeth Peters, aged nearly 90, who was looked after by Bird as a child.
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Served on this farm for seventy years.
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