June Bacon-Bercey

June Esther Bacon-Bercey (née Griffin, October 23, 1928 – July 3, 2019) was an American international expert on weather and aviation[1] who worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service and the Atomic Energy Commission.[2]

June Bacon-Bercey
June Bacon-Bercey, c. 1977
Born
June Esther Griffin

(1928-10-23)October 23, 1928
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
DiedJuly 3, 2019(2019-07-03) (aged 90)
Burlingame, California, U.S.
Alma mater
Children2
Scientific career
Fields
  • Meteorology
  • Radar metereology
  • Aviation meteorology
  • Weather forecasting
Institutions

She was the first African-American woman to earn a degree in meteorology and was the first female TV meteorologist in the United States.[3][4][5]

Early life and education

Bacon-Bercey was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas in 1928.[6][3][7] She earned her bachelor's degree in 1954 from the University of Kansas and her master's degree in 1955 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[6][8] She earned a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Southern California in 1979.[6]

Career

Bacon-Bercey began her career as an engineer, when she worked for the Sperry Corporation, then worked for a variety of federal organizations including the United States Atomic Energy Commission (as a consultant), the National Weather Service Aviation Branch, and the National Meteorological Center.[8]

In 1971, she joined WGR-TV as a news reporter, in which role she covered the Attica Prison riot.[9] In 1972, she became the station's on-air meteorologist after the previous meteorologist was arrested for bank robbery.[3]

Beginning in 1979, Bacon-Bercey spent nearly ten years as the chief administrator for Television Weather Activities at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and worked on a number of other projects.[2][8]

Increasing the participation of African-American women in metereology and geophysical science was a major focus for Bacon-Bercey. In 1978, she published an analysis of African-American meteorologists in the US.[10] She had won $64,000 as a contestant on The $128,000 Question in 1977, which she used to establish a scholarship fund for young women interested in atmospheric sciences, administered by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).[11][12] Bacon-Bercey served on the AGU's Committee on Women and Minorities in Atmospheric Sciences, and co-founded the American Metereological Society's Board on Women in Minorities.[6]

In 2006, Bacon-Bercey was featured in a book for young people, June Bacon-Bercey: a meteorologist talks about the weather.[13]

Honors

Bacon-Bercey was the first woman, as well as the first African-American, to be awarded the American Meteorological Society's Seal of Approval for excellence in television weathercasting when she was working at WGR in Buffalo, New York in the 1970s.[14]

In 2000, she was honored during a three-day conference at Howard University for her contributions including: helping to establish a meteorology lab at Jackson State University in Mississippi, her endowment of the scholarship, and her work in California's public schools.[15] Bacon-Bercey was also named a Minority Pioneer for Achievement in Atmospheric Sciences by NASA.[6]

Personal life

Bacon-Bercey was divorced three times to Walker Bacon Jr., John Bercey and George Brewer.[3] She had two daughters, Dawn-Marie and Dail.[3]

Bacon-Bercey died under hospice care in Burlingame, California from frontotemporal dementia on July 3, 2019 at the age of 90.[3] Her death was announced six months later.[7]

References
  1. Pat Viets (March 15, 2000). "NOAA Supporting Conference in Atmospheric Sciences at Howard University". NOAA. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  2. Bill Workman (March 23, 2000). "Substitute Science Teacher is a Meteorology Legend". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  3. "June Bacon-Bercey, 90, Pathbreaking Meteorologist, Is Dead". The New York Times. January 7, 2020.
  4. Roach, John (February 28, 2020). "June Bacon-Bercey, America's 1st female TV meteorologist, dies at 90". Accuweather.
  5. "Bruin Women Firsts". newsletter.alumni.ucla.edu. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  6. Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Kit (2012). African Americans in Science, Math and Invention. Revised by Steven Otfinoski (Revised ed.). Facts on File, Inc. pp. 7–8. ISBN 9780816083312.
  7. "June Bacon-Bercey, groundbreaking TV meteorologist, dies at 90". The Washington Post. January 7, 2020.
  8. Warren, Wini (January 1, 1999). Black Women Scientists in the United States. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253336031.
  9. The woman who broke meteorological barriers worked in WNY, by Peter Gallivan; at WGRZ; publish April 9, 2019; updated January 3, 2020; retrieved February 1, 2020
  10. Bacon-Bercey, June (May 1978). <0576:sobmis>2.0.co;2 "Statistics on Black Meteorologists in Six Organizational Units of the Federal Government". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 59 (5): 576–580. Bibcode:1978BAMS...59..576B. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1978)059<0576:sobmis>2.0.co;2.
  11. "June Bacon-Bercey wins $64,000 in TV quiz show" (PDF). NOAA News. 2 (10). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 13, 1977.
  12. Anonymous (1978). "June Bacon-Bercey Scholarship in atmospheric sciences". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 59 (12): 1012. Bibcode:1978EOSTr..59Q1012.. doi:10.1029/EO059i012p01012-01.
  13. Weil, Ann (2006). June Bacon-Bercey : a meteorologist talks about the weather. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618599541. OCLC 676696501.
  14. Pergament, Alan (July 25, 2018). "WGRZ's Genero, Waldman to make local TV history after O'Connell's departure". The Buffalo News. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  15. Workman, Bill (March 23, 2000). "Substitute Science Teacher Is a Meteorology Legend / Weather pioneer June Bacon-Bercey given more honors". SFGate. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
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