Pace, Pearl Carter, 1896-1970

Pearl Eagle (Carter) Pace was born in Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Kentucky on January
25, 1896, the daughter of James Clark Carter, Sr. and Idru (Tucker) Carter. She received her
public education locally, graduating in 1915. Pace taught in two elementary schools in Monroe
County, Kentucky, then furthered her education in 1917 at Western Kentucky State Normal School
in Bowling Green, Kentucky. From 1917 to 1918 she was a public school teacher in the
Cumberland County community of Marrowbone.
Pace married Stanley Dan Pace of Waterview, Cumberland County, Kentucky on December
24, 1917, and they resided in Burkesville, Kentucky most of their married life. They had three
children: Patricia Nell “Patty” born February 2, 1919, who married Maurice Clifton “Doc” Keen,
Stanley Carter born February 15, 1921, who married Elaine Marilyn Cutchall, and Mary Elizabeth
“Molly” born June 22, 1924, who married Kenneth Monroe Carr.
Pace began her business career as a bookkeeper in 1924, and in 1940 became secretarytreasurer of the Cumberland Construction Company, Monroe-Cumberland Crushed Stone
Company, and Cumberland Crushed Stone Company. She assumed the presidency of these
family-owned businesses in 1943. Pace was a managing agent for Ashland Oil Company in
Monroe, Clinton and Adair Counties, Kentucky.
In 1938, Pace achieved an outstanding goal -- that of being the first woman in Kentucky to
be elected to a four-year term as sheriff. Serving as Cumberland County sheriff from 1938 to
1941, she replaced her husband who could not legally succeed himself.
Stanley was Cumberland County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman for many
years, while Pearl ran on the Republican ticket. After her husband was killed in a traffic accident in
1940, she became active in the Republican Party. Pace served as secretary of the Cumberland
County Republican Committee and then as chairman and vice-chairman of the Ninth Congressional
District for four years. Additionally, she was a nine year member of the Republican State Central
Committee, and Republican National Committeewoman for Kentucky from 1948 to 1957.
Pace was an active campaigner in the 1952 election of Dwight D. Eisenhower. In December
1953, Eisenhower appointed Pace to the War Claims Commission, which became the Foreign
MSS 114 Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, Special Collections Library, Western Kentucky University
2
Claims Settlement Commission in July 1954. She attained chairmanship of the Commission in
December 1959, thereby becoming the second-ranking woman in the Eisenhower Administration.
Pace resigned in the spring of 1961, following John F. Kennedy’s election in November 1960.
Active membership in many religious, civic, political and professional organizations in
Kentucky and Washington, D.C. occupied much of Pace’s time. During the 1940s, she was
chairman of the Civil Works Administration, later named the Works Progress Administration, in
Cumberland County, and filled the position of chairman for the Cumberland County Federal Relief
Association Advisory Committee for a time. Pace also served on the Advisory Committee of the
Kentucky Republican Women’s Club and as governor of the Eighth District. From 1948 to 1950,
Pace was a board member of the Kentucky Federation of Women’s Clubs, serving as Department
Coordinator. Other memberships held included: Advisory Board of the American Cancer Society of
Kentucky; Board of Crippled Children’s Bureau; National Advisory Board for Woman’s Medical
College of Pennsylvania, serving as one of its Executive Board’s directors; and the Welcome to
Washington Club, of which she was a founding Co-Chairman of the Evening Group. Furthermore,
Pace served on the State Board of Kentucky Crushed Stone Association and the Board of the
National Limestone Institute and its legislative committee. She spoke often at various meetings
and conventions throughout the nation.
Pace suffered several illnesses throughout the years; and in March 1962, she had a
debilitating stroke. Yet after recuperating, she continued to participate in limited activities and
enjoyed traveling. Pace died on January 14, 1970 and was interred in the Pace-Allen Cemetery
near Grider in Cumberland County, Kentucky.

Pearl Carter Pace (January 25, 1896 – January 1970)[1] was elected sheriff in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1938–1941. Pearl Carter was born into a family devoted to public service in Tompkinsville in Monroe County, Kentucky. Pearl Carter married Stanley Dan Pace, the owner of a profitable roadbuilding company and relocated to his neighboring Cumberland County. Originally a schoolteacher and a businesswoman, Pace's husband, Stanley Dan Pace, had been "drafted" in 1933 to run for Cumberland County sheriff by county citizens determined to control rum-running and organized crime during prohibition. He was elected as the first Democrat to hold that office since the 19th century. When his term ended, he was unable to succeed himself; so Pearl was drafted to run and was elected. Stanley Pace died in a car accident, leaving Pearl Carter Pace to raise their children and to pursue her career in local, state, and national politics. Through Pearl Carter Pace's activism in the Republican Party, she became a tireless supporter and friend of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1953, she brought national attention to Kentucky when President Eisenhower appointed her to the War Claims Commission (later the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission). Near the end of his administration, Eisenhower elevated her to the commission chairmanship, making Pearl Carter Pace the third highest ranking woman in his administration, next only to the Treasurer of the United States and the new position of United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the first Kentucky woman appointed by a president to a national post. Pace was active in the GOP for many years, including a stint from 1948 to 1957 as her state's Republican national committeewoman. Pace died in 1970 at the home of her daughter, Patty-Nell Pace Keen, in Burkesville, the seat of Cumberland County.