Discrimination didn't deter Melba Elston, who died at 107, from becoming a teacher

When Melba Elston was young, she had to pass Little Rock Central High School on the bus every day to get to her Black high school in the Arkansas city. The difference in appearance between her school and the grandeur of Central High, which at the time was for white students only, was not lost on her.

Despite the discrimination, Elston's childhood inspired her to become a teacher.

"She'd seen a lot of challenges, a lot of discrimination," granddaughter Mel Davis said. "She never let that steal her joy."

Elston died July 19 at the age of 107.

Born Melba Turner in 1915 in Little Rock, she was the youngest of three sisters. Her mother laundered clothes for families. Her father delivered furniture.

Elston embraced her grade school experience, learning every verse of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." She often talked about her "phenomenal" teachers.

"She just had that strong desire to impart what she learned because she had such great teachers and she saw how it changed her life, and she knew that was the way Black people ... could get ahead," said her daughter, Eugenia Davis, who also would go on to a career in education.

Elston's parents were able to save enough money to send her to Prairie View A&M University in Texas, a feat during the Depression era. She earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1940 and returned to Arkansas to teach.

After the U.S. entered World War II, Elston decided to try to make a better living and work for the U.S. government. She got jobs in the Office of Dependent Benefits in Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J., and later in the Office of War Information in New York City. She married Joseph Elston in 1943. They divorced 16 years later.

Elston eventually returned to Arkansas to teach and obtained a master's degree in education from the University of Arkansas. In 1956, Elston moved to St. Louis, where she would teach kindergarten and first grade for 24 years at Farragut Elementary School until retirement.

Elston moved to Minnesota later in her life to be close to her family as her health deteriorated. The Richfield resident remained active and independent for most of her life, her family said.

Known to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as "Baboo," Elston had a fiery personality, with a quick sense of humor and a MacGyver knack for solving problems. She was thoughtful, creative and organized, granddaughter Meredith Davis Lang said. Elston would keep cards and pictures for years and make scrapbooks for relatives. She could also sew and create elaborate cakes.

Elston's family described her as a fighter who lived by the saying "Keep on keepin' on." She outlived predictions so she could celebrate her daughter's birthday. She died the next day.

Besides her daughter Eugenia and her granddaughters Mel and Meredith, Elston is survived by grandson Matthew Davis and two great-granddaughters.

Services were held earlier this month.