Ted and Eloise Pfeiff Scholarship

Roots in Iowa 
Ted and Eloise Pfeiff retired from rewarding careers as teachers and decided to make a lasting difference by encouraging the teachers of tomorrow.

Ted grew up in a single parent home in Burlington, Iowa, the last of four children.  After high school, he worked at JI Case and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad before joining the Army and serving in the Korean War.  He was the first in his family to go to college.  Ted entered Iowa State Teachers College with funding from the GI Bill and from summer work with the Railroad.  As he looked back on 31 years as an Industrial Arts teacher at Sudlow and Wood Junior High in the Davenport school system, he remembered with satisfaction his work helping students learn.

Eloise always wanted to be a teacher perhaps because her mother had taught.  The family budget was tight so the four children paid their own way to college.  With a Farm Bureau Scholarship and a small loan from her parents, Eloise entered Iowa State Teachers College for a two-year program to become an elementary teacher.  After teaching a number of years and taking summer classes, she completed her Bachelor’s degree 10 years later and her Master’s degree after 25 years.  She taught second grade in Avoca and Blue Grass, Iowa before coming to Bettendorf, Iowa schools.  After her daughter was born, she returned to teaching and spent 26 years as a Learning Disability Resource Teacher. She retired in 1992 after 32 years of teaching.

Ted and Eloise met while attending Iowa State Teachers College.  When Eloise left to teach in Avoca, they exchanged letters frequently.  After Ted finished college, they married.  Their life together was rich with interests and engagement.  Ted had a strong interest in amateur radio and sponsored radio clubs in the schools where he taught. Eloise is a past president of Scott County Association for Children with Learning Disabilities.

For our Future Educators
The Pfeiff’s have been very involved and interested in giving back to their community.  Ted was an advocate for residents of Manor Care, a nursing home, and served as President of the ACLU and the Quad City World Affairs Council.  Eloise volunteers for the LeClaire Public Library. Both Ted and Eloise served as long time members and volunteers for Friendship Force, an international organization based on making friends around the world through home stays.  Both have served as board members, past Presidents and Exchange Directors. They shared a love of travel and visited 40 countries and all seven continents.

Ted and Eloise decided to make their ultimate gift to begin a scholarship fund.  Ted passed away in August 2018. His legacy will live on with this scholarship, empowering students interested in becoming teachers go to college without worrying about the heavy burden of debt.