‘Her Life and Legacy Remembered’
Beth Gibson Ireland was born in Houston, Texas to parents Roger and Christine Burns Gibson on November 13, 1956. After graduation from Houston’s Jack Yates High School in 1975, she attended Houston Community College and Baylor University.
She moved to her mother’s hometown of Fairfield, Texas in 1983 where in 1984 she met and married Fairfield High School math teacher, James Ireland and they have two children, Felicia and Philip.
In 1987, she ran for and won the Freestone County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Office, thus becoming the first black woman in the county to do so and the third black woman in Texas to hold this position. She honorably served as Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace for 27 years until her resignation in 2014.
Although she diagnosed with terminal metastatic breast cancer in 1994, she went on to defy this poor prognosis to live another 21 years! And live she did: In addition to her Justice of the Peace service, Beth was active in the Prisoners for Christ Ministry, served as an “Angel Tree” Coordinator, served as Vice President of the Trinity Star Arts Council and was an active, devoted member of the Behind the Veil Church. The tragedy of her mother’s death and the health serious problems she and husband James shared, she remained selflessly devoted to God, family, church, friends and community.
In 2012, she was one of six original organizers of the Freestone Cancer Support Group. This existing organization was established to provide aid to local cancer patients. Her husband James had died of cancer in 2010 and Beth was to eventually succumb to cancer in October 2015. “As a true servant of our Lord and our community her legacy will always be cherished and remembered for this month and always.”
Submitted by Patricia Pratt – Curator, Freestone County Historical Museum
