Remembering Agnes Pearson, a 'rare treasure' at the Wilson School

One of the Woodrow Wilson School’s most beloved community members, former facilities and services director Agnes Pearson, died Nov. 26 at her home in Levittown, Pa. Pearson had retired in 1997 after working for more than 20 years at the school.

 

Pearson was known for making sure everything ran smoothly in the school, whether that meant carefully planning a foreign ambassador’s visit or making sure the school’s lounge was stocked with coffee — a feature not overlooked by busy students.

 

Over the course of her career at Princeton, Pearson developed a close relationship with Wilson School students, whom she came to address as “kiddos.” They would seek her out if they needed assistance with a task, big or small.

 

“The students will remember her with great fondness as someone who genuinely cared about them and was willing to help them in any way she could, whatever it took,” said Wardell Robinson-Moore, former assistant dean of the Wilson School and the current executive director of Princeton-Blairstown Center.

 

And while the students benefited from Pearson’s kindness and ever-ready assistance, she also valued her time spent with graduate and undergraduate students.

 

According to her son Albert Pearson, a grounds operational manager at Princeton, the relationships his mother developed with students even carried into her personal life.

 

“She would attend softball games, cookouts, and birthday parties with many of the students while they were at Princeton and stayed in contact with many when they left,” he said. “She would display some of the items students gave her after they returned from studying or working in a foreign country on her desk or bookshelf in her office, and a few made their way to the coffee table in the living room at home.”

 

Agnes Pearson will be missed by former colleagues and alumni. As Ann Corwin, director of graduate career services and alumni relations at the Wilson School, said: “Put simply, Agnes was a rare treasure.”