Polio constantly tried, but never fully succeeded, to ground Priscilla Ann McCord throughout her 76 years of life. She passed away peacefully on Thursday evening, February 7, 2019 when "her body finally decided to rest," her youngest son, Robert Yager of Pelham, Alabama, said.
Ann was struck by polio when she was only eight months old. Treatment in those days consisted of keeping her strapped to a metal frame at home. She was released from the frame twice a day and her affected limbs, both legs, soaked in hot water.
At one year old, the Birmingham, Alabama native gained her first set of leg braces and crutches specially made by her wood-working father. Family members say those braces and crutches were like rocket engines. They propelled the high-spirited youngster into a long career of investing herself in the lives of others. She seized every opportunity to energetically and fearlessly advocate for a variety of causes, including the March of Dimes and Children's Hospital of Alabama.
A local newspaper article published when Ann was 11 refers to her as "a one-girl campaign committee for the March of Dimes." Going it alone for the first time, she went door to door in her neighborhood with "only her crutches and a flashing smile," the article reports. She collected more than $2 in dimes, no small feat for a child but typical of Ann, in only a couple of hours one day. She was already planning her fund-raising crusades for the next two days in adjoining neighborhoods.
Her family says everything that Ann set her mind on became a crusade - nurturing hers and her husband Fred's marriage of 20 years, raising two children, and tending to her parents and other ailing family members' medical needs.
"She raised me and my brother almost single-handedly, and that speaks volumes," said son Robert. "Up until a few years ago, she insisted on helping wash the dishes, clean up, and help make the beds."
Ann was predeceased by her husband; her parents, Robert Ivey Cadenhead and Elizabeth Clark Cadenhead; and one sister, Judy Cadenhead. Survivors include sons, Phillip Allen Yager and Robert Andrew Yager (Christine Upton); one brother, Robert Chalmers Cadenhead; nine grandchildren, Phillip East (Leah), Trent Yager, Marcus Yager, Beth McCain, Cheyann Yager (fiancé, Gage Cain), Chadwick Hennig (Angel), Sgt. Christopher J. Upton (Catrina), Beth Upton, and Pvt. Ian P. Upton; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 10-11 a.m. on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at Ridout's Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, immediately followed by A Celebration of Ann's Life at 11 a.m. at the funeral home's chapel. Burial will be at Adger Cemetery.
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