The capital city mourns the loss of Little Rock Nine member Thelma Mothershed-Wair

LITTLE ROCK, Ark- The loss of Little Rock Nine member Thelma Mothershed-Wair is a major one in the capital city.

She was 83 years old, and people in the community remember vividly the start of the Little Rock Nine’s journey to de-segregating Central High School.

Dorris Thomas, who lived in the central neighborhood at the time when the Little Rock Nine begin their journey remembers their incredible struggle.

“Every day at noon we said a prayer for their safety and their life to be spared because they were having a hard time,” Thomas said.

She says Thelma Mothershed-Wair’s legacy will forever live.

Thomas’s daughter Vonda is a graduate of Central High and got a chance to meet Mothershed-Wair before her death.

“She was the eldest of the Little Rock Nine at that time she was the oldest member and just a warm lady all together,” Vonda said.

She said she admires Mothershed-Wair’s and all of the Little Rock Nine’s ability to keep going beyond their daily adversity.

“It was very scary, everybody was fearing for their life because we had so many threats everything even in our home,” Thomas said.

But it’s something that Mothershed-Wair survived, and it’s become her success story, one that will continue to impact generation to come.

“The legacy she leaves behind is just to always stay the course no matter what it is, smile grin and bear it and know that a better day is coming,” Vonda said.

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