City director Pearson remembered as ‘idea man’
Negotiator during 1978 police strike
Claude Lee Pearson, former director of both general services and sanitation divisions for the city of Memphis, wrangled contract settlements for the city and was the one of the city’s chief negotiators during the police strike in 1978.
Mr. Pearson died on Sept. 28 at Methodist North Hospital after a brief illness. He was 73.
In 1963, at 23, Mr. Pearson, was hired as the assistant chief probation officer for Juvenile Court by then judge-elect, the late Kenneth Turner.
He later served the city of Memphis under mayors Henry Loeb, Wyeth Chandler and Dick Hackett. And it was Mr. Pearson who also helped bring curbside garbage pickup to Memphis.
“He was such a behind-the-scenes, get-things- done kind of guy,” said his daughter, Melissa Ungberg of Memphis. “It’s just so great to see the impact he had.”
She recalls her father’s absence during the 1978 negotiations.
“My mom would put us in front of the TV and say, ‘There’s your dad. You haven’t seen your dad. There’s your dad; he’s on TV,’” she said. “So we’d watch the news every night to see Dad on TV.”
Colleague Eddie Yaun met Mr. Pearson in 1977 when Yaun joined the city’s sanitation department. During the strike, Yaun recalls spending a few nights at City Hall.
“I remember Claude coming in and out during the night. I think it was part of having a presence in the building in case there were any events that took place during the night regarding protecting the facility,” Yaun said.
Henry Evans, who was with the city for 10 years, remembers Mr. Pearson as an “idea man.”
“Claude was an idea man, someone who could make things happen and was certainly willing to try new and different things to improve our efficiency in everything we did,” Evans said. “Plus, he was one of those people that people really liked. He was a great manager, and people enjoyed working for him.”
Mr. Pearson was a graduate of Treadwell High School, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track.
After high school he was asked to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, but instead accepted a football scholarship to Baylor University, Ungberg said.
“He was actually drafted by the San Diego Chargers,” she said. “I think he went through six weeks of training camp and got injured, and that was the end of his glorious career.”
After graduating from Baylor, Mr. Pearson went to work at the Gatesville State School for Boys in Gatesville, Texas, before joining Juvenile Court. He went to work for the city in 1969 as a personnel technician.
Mr. Pearson also negotiated contracts with AFSCME, matching wits with that union’s representative, the late Rev. James E. Smith.
“It was always a matter of mutual respect. That’s the way he always was at the table,” said Dorothy Cook, a former AFSCME director and an assistant to Smith. “Sometimes they would get a little colorful, but there was a mutual respect for the working-class people.”
After retiring from the city, Mr. Pearson taught at Briarcrest Christian School, where he was also an assistant football coach.
A long-time Bartlett resident, Mr. Pearson served as a city alderman.
In addition to Ungberg, Mr. Pearson is survived by Carolyn Crawford Pearson, his wife of 41 years; daughter Sheryl Wagner of Wasilla, Alaska; son Timothy Pearson of Arlington; sister Carolyn Daugherty of Shawnee, Okla.; and seven grandchildren.
Services are 10 a. m. Wednesday at Leawood East Baptist Church, 1620 N. Houston Levee.
Burial will follow at Memphis Memory Gardens Cemetery, 6444 Raleigh LaGrange Road.