Gertrude Pierce Royal

Gertrude Pierce Royal died on May 9th, 2024 at Abbotswood in Greensboro NC, after living in her apartment there for 6 years. She was 99 years old. We are thankful for her kind and loving caretakers including Kosepha, Miranda, Sherron and Patricia.

She was born on Jan 11, 1925 in the small eastern NC town of Hallsboro to Theda Mae White Pierce and Samuel Gaines Pierce. Gertrude is survived by her two daughters, Meredith Royal Jackson (husband Robert Henry Jackson) and Martha Royal Shafer (husband Donald Thornton Shafer.) Gertrude’s grandchildren are: Charlotte Lee Jackson, Samuel Jackson (wife Brittany Jackson,) Virginia “Ginny” Shafer and Eleanor Shafer. Gertrude was blessed with two great granddaughters, Susanna and Marian Bang, Charlotte’s children. Gertrude’s husband of 62 years, Ammie Lee Royal, died in 2018.

Three of Gertrude’s siblings survive her: Martha Pierce Dahlquist, and step brother Van Armelin Pierce and step sister Ann Dandridge Pierce Jones. An older brother, Homer Pierce, is deceased, as are Richard and Steven Pierce, who died when they were small children.

Gertrude’s funeral will be held on Saturday, May 18th at Butler Funeral Home  in Roseboro.  Friends and family will gather there at 2:00pm to visit followed by the funeral service at 3:00 pm. At the conclusion of the service, the burial will be at Sunrise Memorial Gardens in nearby Salemburg, NC, the small village where her husband was born, raised and where he is buried.

Gertrude went to school in Hallsboro, NC, then attended and  graduated from Meredith College during World War II. She worked in the dining hall at Meredith serving three meals a day to help pay for college. At Meredith she was recognized as a talented writer. She took graduate courses in theatre at UNC Chapel Hill.  After graduation from Meredith, she became a high school teacher in Clinton, NC, teaching English and Theatre and directed many plays.  Students remembered the productions into adulthood. Because of the war, Gertrude was not much older than some of her students. They cherished her and throughout her life, former students testified to the profound difference she made in their lives because of the love, care and connection she made with them.

Gertrude met her future husband, Lee Royal, at the boarding house in Clinton. They married in 1956, and seeking greater challenges and opportunity, moved to Charlotte where they opened the first national temporary help business in North Carolina, Manpower, Inc.

Gertrude was a vital support in the business, which eventually added offices in other cities in North and South Carolina.  She was the first female deacon at Providence Baptist Church in Charlotte. Through church, she helped members of the immigrant community settle into Charlotte. She continued to exercise her love of teaching by founding and leading the Caravan Book Club for approximately 20 years.

Gertrude and Lee were supporters of higher education. College played a transformative role in their lives. They endowed scholarships at both Mars Hill University and Campbell University.

Gertrude’s greatest desire was to have a happy, loving home. She and Lee created that. There was always delicious food and homemade desserts at their home. There was silly word play and laughter, and everyone was encouraged to fully be themselves. Everyone was valued. Lee and Gertrude adored each other, respected each other, and had the greatest blessing of all: a happy home.

Memorial gifts may be given to The Royal, Jackson, Shafer Family Scholarship at Mars Hill University, 100 Athletic St., Mars Hill, NC 28754

Services are by Butler Funeral Home of Roseboro