WEATHER NEWS Updated Feb. 28, 2020 1:31 PM
A pioneer in the field, June Bacon-Bercey was the first African American woman to earn a college degree in meteorology as well as the world’s first female meteorologist on television. She passed away on July 3, 2019 at age 90. Her daughter, Dail St. Claire, waited to publicly announce her death to unveil a scholarship honoring her legacy of helping women pursue careers in science. St. Claire said it was her mother's final wish.
"A long-time advocate for women pursuing careers in the atmospheric sciences, Mom’s final wish was to reinstate the annual scholarship she created in 1978 in lieu of a public service and flowers," St. Claire wrote in an e-mail to AccuWeather.
A headshot showing June Bacon-Bercey, first woman to become TV meteorologist in the U.S. (Photo courtesy of Dail St. Claire)
It was in 1953 that Bacon-Bercey became the first African American woman to receive a degree in meteorology. Fifteen years later she became America’s first female TV meteorologist.
Bacon-Bercey was also the first women to earn the American Meteorological Society’s coveted “Seal of Approval” for television weather broadcasting and was recognized by NASA as a Minority Pioneer for Achievement in Atmospheric Sciences.
June Bacon-Bercey was the first African American woman meteorologist and the first woman television meteorologist in the U.S. (Photo courtesy of Dail St. Claire)
In 1978, Bacon-Bercey started a scholarship fund for women with $64,000 she won on the TV game show "The $128,000 Question." St. Claire said her mother hoped the money would help women become meteorologists.
"Education was No. 1, so scholarship was a passion and she always wanted to share it with those who were less fortunate," St. Claire said in a press release. Later, in an interview with AccuWeather's Dexter Henry, she said, "She was very focused and cognizant on raising the profile of STEM as a discipline, as a career choice for women and minorities."
June Bacon-Bercey on the air in Buffalo during the early 1970s. (Photo courtesy June Bacon-Bercey)
The June Bacon-Bercey Scholarship for Women helped 12 women attend college between 1978 and 1990 and achieve advancements in the fields of geochemistry, physics, astronomy, meteorology and oceanography, moving into positions with NOAA, NASA, MIT and several TV stations across the United States.
The scholarship, administered through the American Geophysical Untion (AGU), aims to support women students with a demonstrated interest in atmospheric sciences and/or intersections with meteorology as they establish their studies and build careers in the field.
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“I was discouraged (from becoming a meteorologist), and other women were discouraged,” Bacon-Bercey told The Washington Post in 1977. “If they feel they’ve got some money behind them, it might be better.”
"Her legacy is every person that graduated from this program, point blank period. That's her legacy," Janae Elkins, an NWS meteorologist and Jackson State alum, told AccuWeather. The historically black university produces a significant number of the nation's black meteorologists. Bacon-Bercey was instrumental in starting the university's meteorology program, creating labs to help minorities pursue their dreams.
"I'm really happy that she was an advocate for pushing diversity in meteorology cause without her I don't see Jackson State having a meteorology program as early as they did," Jackson State student Anthony Thornton told AccuWeather.
Bacon-Bercey helped found the American Meteorological Society Board on Women and Minorities to increase the number of women and minorities in the atmospheric sciences. (Photo courtesy of Dail St. Claire)
In her later years, Bacon-Bercey continued to contribute to the education of many. Upon earning her teaching credentials, she taught math and science in several primary and secondary public schools in California until 2015.
“My mom was my mentor and my role model in my life,” said St. Clair, who is the chief operating officer at Park Avenue Finance. “I always speak about my mom in my life whenever I have a chance to speak in different venues. There’s no question that my career , while different, the work ethic and discipline and persistence and uncompromising goal to be excellent at all costs is what I learned from my mom.”
She leaves behind a powerful legacy not only to her daughter, but to legions of other young women and men striving for careers in atmospheric science and beyond.
"She reshaped the landscape of meteorology," St. Claire recalled, proud of her mother's achievements.
"My mother achieved goals that she set for herself that were seemingly unachievable and certainly had not been achieved by women and minorities," she said.
Additional reporting by Dexter Henry.
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