Myrtle Hopkins Westmoreland entered East Carolina Teachers College in 1937, paying her way with loans and by working in the college dining hall for four years, first serving tables, then as head dining hall girl. Westmoreland also played basketball, making the first team her freshman year, and graduating in 1941 with scholastic honors.

After graduating, Westmoreland worked as a home supervisor for the Farmers Home Administration, taught high school home economics, worked as an agricultural extension home agent in Iredell County, and finally joined her husband operating a funeral home in the Statesville area for over fifty years. She encouraged her younger brother to attend college and helped him financially to do so. Her only daughter and three grandchildren have all graduated from college as well.

Listen to and read a transcription of her oral history

Citation
Myrtle H. Westmoreland oral history interview, May 3, 2008. First in the Family Oral History Collection. UA45-05. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/1269