Terrill C. Salmond, former Eagles cheerleader, retired office manager, singer, artist, and volunteer, has died at 75
She became one of the NFL team's first Black cheerleaders in 1966 and served as a popular alumni representative for years afterward. She also sang and danced in productions at the Freedom Theater.
Terrill C. Salmond, 75, of Philadelphia, one of the first Black Eagles cheerleaders, retired office manager at Exelon Corp., singer, artist, and volunteer, died Friday, March 17, of cancer at Nazareth Hospital.
Ms. Salmond was the third Black woman to become an Eagles cheerleader in 1966. She also cheered as a Liberty Belle for the 76ers and later served as an Eagles cheerleader alumni representative at charity and social events.
A natural dancer, singer, and actor, she accepted a challenge from her brother to try out for the cheerleaders, then called the Eaglettes. Just out of high school, she made it through two auditions to earn a place on the squad. In 2017, she and other alumni cheerleaders were honored by the Eagles shortly before the team won Super Bowl LII in February 2018.
“It was much different then than it is now,” Ms. Salmond told the Philadelphia Tribune in 2017. “We did routines as opposed to getting jiggy with it the way the girls do now.
“We were covered up, and that was when people were going for that ‘mod’ look with the miniskirts and leggings. The raciest thing we did was probably taking off our gloves during a routine.”
Before games in the late 1960s, the Eaglettes often paraded with a flag team and marching band down 34th Street from Lancaster Avenue to Franklin Field, where the Eagles played until 1971. They sang the Eagles fight song and performed choreographed routines on the sidelines during games and on the field at halftime with the flag team and band.
“That was a wonderful time,” Ms. Salmond told the Tribune. She was also working as an usher at the Spectrum in 1968 when a windstorm blew off part of the roof during a performance of the Ice Capades.
Ms. Salmond started working at Exelon in Philadelphia as office manager in the investment department in the early 2000s and retired about 12 years later. “She was organized and detail-oriented,” said her son Vance Lofton.
She sang and danced in productions at the Freedom Theater, and volunteered at Mount Carmel Baptist Church as, among other things, a mentor to women and girls in need. “She was a warm and caring person,” her son said.
Terrill Chanee Lofton was born Sept. 21, 1947, in Abington. Her family moved to Mount Airy when she was in elementary school, and she graduated from Murrell Dobbins High School in 1965.
She worked for a time as a dental assistant and had son Vance. She married Willie C. Salmond Jr. in 1970, and the family moved to Vallejo, Calif., and she had son Bryan.
She returned to Mount Airy after a divorce and earned an associate degree in business administration at Peirce College and a bachelor’s degree in organizational management at Eastern University. She was a member for years at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Mount Airy and later at Salem Baptist Church in Abington.
She sang solos for Salem’s choirs, played tambourine, and served on several church committees. She painted and made colorful ceramics after she retired, and crocheted mittens, scarves, and other items for family and friends.
Ms. Salmond was funny, had a contagious laugh, sewed, and taught her son how to hem his pants. She baked delicious pies, cookies, and other delicacies. “She could just taste something and then go home and make it herself,” her son said.
She traveled to China, Jamaica, and elsewhere, doted on her five grandchildren, and, of course, was a lifelong Eagles fan. “They are a first-class organization,” she told the Tribune.
Her son said: “I’m glad she was here to see the Eagles win a Super Bowl in her lifetime. She was a resourceful person, a loving person, full of life, full of humor.”
In addition to her sons, grandchildren, and former husband, Ms. Salmond is survived by other relatives. Her brother died earlier.
A memorial service is to be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 30, at Salem Baptist Church of Abington, 2741 Woodland Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001.
Donations in her name may be made to Salem Baptist Church, 2741 Woodland Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001.