Elizabeth Richardson Pulley, age 90, died on October 23, 2017 at her daughter’s home in Winchester, Virginia, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Elizabeth, known to most as “Tish” or “Grandma,” was born on May 28, 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut. She was the daughter of a Mississippi farmer and history teacher (Thomas Franklin Richardson) and a Mount Holyoke graduate from Massachusetts (Pearl Lydia Harlow). Her parents instilled an early love of travel and learning, driving all over the United States on the back roads, with Tish and her brothers Franklin and Harlow in the rear of the car, and only their dad’s history lectures as entertainment.
Tish met David Clarence Pulley at The College of William and Mary, and they married after graduation in 1948. Tish supported Dave in his studies at Yale University, afterwards traveling the world while completing a Fulbright Scholarship and research for the Ford Foundation. Their various adventures included a crash landing of a float plane in the Amazon River, where Tish was mistaken for Grace Kelly. Tish and Dave eventually settled in Greenville, South Carolina, where Dave joined the Furman University faculty. Tish earned her Master’s Degree in Education from Furman and occasionally taught classes there. She also served as a librarian in the Greenville schools. In the early 1970s, Tish worked for her brother’s company, Delta Education, Inc., and in the late 1970s, Tish started her own company, Pulley Learning Associates, selling hands-on science programs and books to school systems. In 2000, Tish retired to Williamsburg, Virginia.
Tish enjoyed books and stories, but not television or movies. She enjoyed snorkeling and sailing and rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle for her 80th birthday. Tish enjoyed gardening, but not weeding. She loved needlework, sewing and knitting, and could cook but preferred not to, except for lemon meringue pie. Tish and Dave skied for the first time in the Andes Alps in the late 1950s, and passed their love of the sport to their girls and grandchildren, all avid skiers. They also loved to travel with their girls all over the world as often as possible, and were always game for the next adventure, no matter how far-fetched. They brought a monkey home from South America and a sled dog from Alaska.
Tish helped her parents write and edit the genealogical history, Richardson-Hartley-Arender and Related Families. And a decade later, she updated and republished the book.
The only word Tish did not understand was “can’t.”
Surviving Elizabeth are her three daughters, their spouses, and 6 grandchildren. Catherine Pulley Ballard of Winchester, Virginia and her husband John Thomas Ballard have three daughters, Helen Elizabeth, Virginia Louise and Catherine Aletha. Lydia Rose Pulley of Richmond, Virginia and her husband Rodney Turner Willett have three children, David Turner Willett, Winston Lloyd Willett, and Leonora Rose Willett. April Pulley Sayre of South Bend, Indiana is married to Jeffrey Peter Sayre.
Tish is preceded in death by her husband, her two brothers, and her grandson, John David Ballard (the son of Catherine and John Ballard of Winchester).
Ballard family friends are invited to drop by their home in Winchester, 1405 Handley Avenue, on Sunday, October 29th, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. In accordance with Grandma’s wishes, there will be ice cream.
Tish’s family will receive visitors on Saturday, November 4th, from 10:00 am to noon in the Brinkley Commons in the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. There will be brief remarks at 11:30. The private inurnment will be at the Furman University section of the Springfield Cemetery in Greenville, South Carolina, where Tish’s husband Dave is buried.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to The Pulley Family Public Service Endowment at The College of William and Mary or the JD Ballard Teen Mental Health Fund, with the Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley.