Colleagues remember Dr. Pegues as smart, trustworthy, dependable
The first black head of a major Ohio school district died Thursday at 72.
STAFF REPORT
YOUNGSTOWN — Dr. Robert L. Pegues Jr., the first black superintendent of both Youngstown and Warren city school districts, was a man who changed the landscape in the schools and communities in which he served.
Pegues, 72, died Thursday at home after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and sarcoidosis. He was born March 6, 1936, in Youngstown, the son of Robert L. and Inez DeYoung Pegues Sr.
“If he told you something, you could depend on it,” said Lock P. Beachum Sr., vice president of the Youngstown Board of Education, whose career in education was “greatly influenced” by Pegues.
Beachum said when he came to Youngstown in 1965, he took Pegues’ place as a teacher at Lincoln Elementary. Pegues appointed him assistant principal and then principal at North High School and also appointed several other blacks to principal positions in Youngstown schools.
Pegues, superintendent of Youngstown schools from 1972 to 1978, was also instrumental in the education and political career of former Youngstown Mayor Patrick J. Ungaro, now Liberty Township administrator.
“We were raised in the same neighborhood, Smoky Hollow. He lived on Valley Street, and I lived on Adams Street,” Ungaro said.
“Smoky Hollow was a cross-section of every culture and race and ethnic group. I think living there gave all of us the ability to deal with the public and appreciate other cultures,” Ungaro said.
Pegues “gave me opportunities when he was superintendent, Ungaro said. He appointed me guidance counselor and head football coach at The Rayen School and then assistant principal at South High School. I was there until I became mayor in 1984.”
He was a special kind of person who treated everybody fairly and loved kids. He will be hard to duplicate. He was a great human being. He had a tough life, but a fruitful life, Ungaro said.
“He was enjoyable to know as a person, and was an excellent superintendent who was able to get along with teachers, administrators and had a good standing in the community,” Beachum said.
“He was trustworthy. If he told you something, you could depend on it. If he appointed you to a position, he expected you to do your job. And if you followed the policies set by the board of education, he had your back,” Beachum said.
“Dr. Pegues was a good person. As a boss, he held you accountable, but he was fair. And, he would encourage you and help you grow. He was very instrumental in helping me to get my doctorate,” said Dr. Wendy Webb, Youngstown schools superintendent.
SDLqHe hired me, and I had him as an instructor at YSU. He was a mentor and a gentleman and a scholar,” Webb said of Pegues.
Pegues became superintendent in Warren in 1979 and held that post until February 1987, leaving to finish his doctoral dissertation.
Ungaro did not understate when he said Pegues had a hard but fruitful life.
As a superintendent, he experienced a teacher strike in 1973.
His 41-year-old wife, Marlene, died of leukemia in 1977, and soon after a daughter, Chilita R., was diagnosed with the same hereditary disease and died at age 11.
In 1995, Pegues shocked the community, family and friends by shooting his 31-year-old autistic son, Robert Jr. He then shot himself in the head. Both survived. His motive was never made public, but a grand jury refused to indict him for attempted murder in 1996.
On the other side of the ledger, Pegues was the first black superintendent of a major Ohio school system. He received numerous honors and awards throughout his career and has a scholarship in his honor at Youngstown State University.
He started a local group for those who have sarcoidosis, an inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells, called granulomas, and causes scar tissue in various organs.
He served in the Army ROTC as a captain from 1954 to 1965 and was a civil aide to the secretary of the Army from 1974 to 1978.
He resigned as Youngstown superintendent in 1977, agreeing to stay until August 1978, and was hired as Warren superintendent in November 1979. He and Webb were honored in 2007 by the Youngstown Board of Education as its first black male and female superintendents.
Pegues leaves his son, Robert L. Pegues III, and daughter, Tamra M. Brooks, both of Youngstown; four brothers, Cecil (Jane) Pegues of Charlotte, N.C., Winston (Debra) Pegues of Youngstown, Morris Pegues of Long Beach, Calif., and Jeffrey Pegues of Detroit; and two sisters, Carol Pegues and Denise Welch, both of Youngstown.
Besides his wife and daughter, he was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Morton E. Pegues; and a sister, Chilita Grace.
Funeral services will be Wednesday at noon in Centenary United Methodist Church.
Calling hours will be Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m., with special services from 4 to 6 p.m. in the church, and also Wednesday from 11 a.m. to noon, one hour before the funeral service.
Arrangements were handled by Sterling-McCullough Williams Funeral Home.
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