Women In American History Honorees – 2014-2015
Julia Rowe Eacott, National Vice Chairman
STATE
CHAPTER
CITY
AL
Hunt’s Spring
Huntsville
HONOREE
BIRTH
DIED
Pam Arias
AL
Lily of the Cahaba
Hoover
1950
3/15/2014
3/1943
3/1/2014
Dolores Hydock
AL
D”Iberville
Mobile
Bunnie Sutton McDaniel
HONORED
MAIN ACCOMPLISHMENTS
4/2/2015
After completing a BS degree, Pam entered the USAF in
1978 and became an OTC distinguished graduate. She
subsequently: Became a 2nd Lt, HQ Squadron
Commander, at Edward AFB. Completed a 2nd MS
Degree in Procurement Mgt. Was promoted to 1st Lt.
and began a 3rd Master’s Degree in Systems
Management. Was promoted to Captain and was
selected for a PM course, followed by Squadron
Officers School. Attended Air Command and Staff
College and received a ‘two-year early’ promotion to Lt.
Col. She supported a 2-star and 4-star General. Was F15 Logistics Director and received a ‘1-year early’
promotion to full Col. Was 96th Air Base Wing Support
Group Commander overseeing air armament and
product support. Retired in 2005 at the rank of Colonel.
Storyteller, Dolores Hydock opens doors to the past.
Through the age-old art storytelling, we see the tough,
resourceful women who settled the West. We meet an
immigrant family as they make their place in America in
the 1920s. Dolores paints a picture of Sallie Independence
Foster’s innocent world of childhood until collides with
the realty of the Civil War. From diaries, letters,
newspaper clipping and interviews, her original stories
transport today’s audiences to different place and
different times. Her performances often benefit libraries,
churches, Universities and others. We are enriched by her
talents. She once said, “Sometimes hissotry just waits
patiently for someone to ask about it.” She asks and we
are avid listeners.
Alzheimer’s Association-Southwest Alabama Chapter,
first in the State of Alabama. She served three years
before becoming its Executive Director for 18 year. She
wrote a proposal to develop study committee to meet the
unmet needs of both patients and caregivers. McDaniel
served on the Governor’s Study Committee developing
the Dementi Education Program for the State of
Alabama. She has been an advocate for change in the
health care delivery system that would make care for
Alzheimer patients and families available, accessible,
affordable, and adequate.
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
4/28/1868
6/14/1962
9/30/1921
4/4/1993
Bernie Babcock was the first Arkansas woman to be
included in Authors and Writers Who’s Who. She
published more than forty novels, as well as numerous
tracts, newspaper and magazine articles. Founder of the
“Museum of Natural History (renamed the Museum of
Discovery in 1998) in Little Rock, AR, a founding
member of the Arkansas Historical Society, and the first
president of the “Arkansas Branch of the National
League of American Pen Women”. After writing and
publishing several books on Abraham Lincoln, she was
known as one of the country’s leading authorities on
Lincoln.
Noted actress in theater and television in NY and
California. She established the first community theater
in Little Rock, 1941-1945 with the help of her
grandmother’s friend, Eleanor Roosevelt, she went to
work at the Pentagon. Then joined the Women’s Army
Corps (WAC). Served as an ambulance driver in Italy
and Egypt. 1976, President of the Poet’s Roundtable of
AR. 1981, wrote weekly poetry column in AR Gazette.
1987, rescued a young woman from attempted rape. She
received several honors and awards including Carnegie
Hero Award and a commendation for bravery by AR
Gov. Bill Clinton.
Julia Burnelle (Bernie) Smade
Babcock
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
Lucille (Lucy) Babcock
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
AR
Arkansa
Hot Springs
Village
Bobbie Jo (Purdue) Burney
10/1/1934
5/4/1941
Mary Virginia Colatz Erdman
3/7/2015
Mrs. Burney is a hidden treasure of Jacksonville,
Arkansas. She is compassionate and dedicated to the
welfare of others. Here is a list of some of her generous
acts of care: Makes caps and blankets for babies in
Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Makes Prayer Shawls for
seriously ill individuals and joined in circles of prayer
for those individuals. Provided free babysitting so
parents can attend classes. Provided transportation to
prisoners so children could visit their parent(s).
Provided transportation weekly (sometimes daily) for
cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in another
town.
Lt. Col. US Army Reserves 1986-2003; first woman
Commander for Department of Arkansas American
Legion 2012-2013 Nurse Corps and Adjutant for
USARF School. Activated for Desert Storm. Served in
Panama, Germany and under hostile fire in El Salvador.
Graduated magna cum laude with BS from University of
Michigan and cum laude with MS from Indiana
University. Graduate of Command and General Staff
College and Combined Arms and Services School.
Member of PUFL in American Legion, VFW, MOAA,
and VFW Honor Guard, 14th District Commander,
Sergeant-at-Arms; Post Commander, 1st and 2nd Vice.
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
9/19/1944
4/18/2015
4/19/1935
4/18/2015
11/15/1920
11/11/2014
Hope Gilbert
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
Carolyn Yancy Kent
AR
Dardanelle Rock
Dardanelle
Tomela Wright Keenan
Mrs. Gilbert, a USAF Veteran (1962-1964), served in a
Carswell AFB communications squadron with a topsecret crypto clearance. As President of
Ladies
Auxiliary VFW Department of Arkansas (2011-2012),
she raised over $13,000 for the Women’s Health Center
at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. Some
of the items the monies were used for were
mammography and other equipment, bathrobes for
mammography, and pajamas for inpatient women’s
units. She is a Veteran’s Administration Voluntary
Services (VAVS) representative for the VFW Auxiliary.
She volunteers at Little Rock AFB Hospital Pharmacy
and visits veterans in local nursing homes.
Local historian, independent researcher and writer of
Arkansas history. Belongs to Arkansas Trail of Tears
Association. Work with Reed’s Bridge Historical
Society. Wrote Jacksonville’s history booklets. Writes
for historical journals, i.e. Encyclopedia of Arkansas
History and Culture, Pulaski County Historical Society.
Other research topics – World War II Ordinance Plants,
Little Rock AFB. Effects preservation through National
Register of Historic Places, i.e. Capitol-Main Historic
District (Little Rock). Awarded Historic Preservation
Medal during dedication of historic plaque honoring the
Gray Brothers’ contribution to the settlement of
Jacksonville for her research on this chapter’s namesake.
Chapter founding member.
Tomela Wright Keenan entered the Navy in October,
1942, one of the first Navy WAVES. Joining strictly for
Patriotic reasons, she had two brothers serving in the
Pacific. Basic training was in Stillwell, OK. On
completion, she was sent to Georgia for Personnel work.
The next assignment was to San Diego, CA, plotting
ships and planes in the So. Pacific. She was then
assigned to Military Intelligence in Loc Angeles, where
duties occasionally included undercover work at social
events. Photogenic, she often appeared in Navy
promotionals and was featured on the cover of Life
magazine, March 1943. She left the Navy in October
1945, as a Yeoman First Class, married, and raised her
family in Dardanelle, AR.
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
5/2/1949
4/18/2015
1917
5/18/2015
Karen Knox
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
Melda Rice
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
7/13/1918
Jeannette Edris Rockefeller
12/7/1997
Mother, educator and advocate. Karen received her
BSE from the University of Central Arkansas and taught
first grade in Lonoke for 31 years. She founded and
serves as the director of the Wade Knox Child Advocacy
Center in Lonoke. She has Victim Advocacy
certification, Forensic Interviewer certification and
serves as the Education Director for the WKCAC
serving Lonoke County and the surrounding counties.
She has received Lonoke Teacher of the year award and
was named Lonoke Citizen of the year. The WKCAC
was born in 2005 from a family tragedy involving
Karen’s son, Wade. She has since devoted her life and
work to helping child abuse victims, physical, sexual
and emotional.
During WWII, Mrs. Rice lived in Furlow, AR and drove
to work at the Arkansas Ordnance Plant in Jacksonville.
She had one child, Ben. In 1949, she began her banking
career at Jacksonville State Bank. She retired in 1984 as
Senior Vice President. Eastern Star Worthy Matron in
Jacksonville. Life member of the Hospital Auxiliary at
Rebsman Hospital. Vice President of the B&PW Club.
Active member of First United Methodist Church in
Jacksonville. Treasurer of LRAFB Communication
Council. Awarded the Military Airlift Command
Distinguished Citizen Award.
First Lady of Arkansas (1967-71) during Winthrop
Rockefeller’s term as Arkansas 37th governor. As first
lady of Arkansas, she supervised the renovation of the
Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, among other activities.
The Rockefellers led successful fund-raising campaign
for the Museum of Fine Arts (Arkansas Arts Center) in
1959. 1960 to 1968 served as the president of the
Arkansas Arts Center Board of Trustees. During the
1960’s, she served as president of Arkansas and
National Associations for Mental Health and as a trustee
for the Research Foundation of the National Association
for Mental Health, Inc., Finch College in NYC, and
Phelander Smith College in Little Rock.
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
5/24/1938
5/18/2015
Dorothy Coleen Komegay
VanNostrand
AR
Major Jacob Gray
Jacksonville
10/7/1949
Alice Louise Walton
AZ
Major Winfield
Scott
Scottsdale
4/5/1899
Alvina Potter
1/11/1980
3/7/2015
During Mrs. VanNostrand’s professional career as a
banker, she worked at First Jacksonville Bank and then
the Bank of Cabot. She became known for her
involvement within the community and her church, First
United Methodist Church, in Jacksonville. Noted for
her work with local youth groups, serving in her Sunday
School Class, church board, and the Methodist
Women’s group. Leader of the Sew and Sew group,
which makes school bags for missions and layette sets
for newborns at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Participates in Prayer Shawl Ministry. Volunteers at
local thrift shop.
American heiress to the fortune of Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc., the first chairperson of the Northwest Arkansas
Council that secured the development of the Northwest
Arkansas Regional Airport. In 2001, Walton was
inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.
Walton serves on the board of the Amon Carter Museum
in Forth Worth, Texas and is a member of Trustees
Council of the National Gallery of Art in Washington,
DC. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in
Bentonville, Arkansas was founded by Alice Walton.
Regular entrance to the world-class museum is free due
to a grant from Wal-Mart, but select temporary exhibits
may have admission fees. The museum collection
includes only American Art from colonial times to the
present day.
Alvina Potter began her studies of the mining
community, Walker, Arizona in about 1950, resulting in
authoring and publishing the first historical book
concerning the miners who worked and lived in the area.
She searched diligently for evidence of the town as well
as interviewing “old timers” who remembered Walker in
the pioneer days. Ms. Potter traveled throughout the
state, researching and consulting experts at the state and
university libraries and the Arizona Historic Society. In
1964 she published The Many Lives of the Lynx: A
Century of Mining on Lynx Creek, 1863-1963. She sent
every high school and college in Arizona a copy, hoping
to preserve the 100-year history of gold mining in
Arizona.
CA
Merced River
Merced
3/7/2015
Dorothy L. Bizzini
CA
Antelope Valley
Lancaster
4/2/1945
3/7/2015
9/28/1931
3/7/2015
First woman on the Lancaster, CA city council in 1982,
and the first woman mayor of Lancaster, serving in
1985-1986. During her term, she was also the first
manager of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce. She
served as President of the first Domestic Violence
Council, A.V. Guild of Children’s Hospital of Los
Angeles. Received the 17th State Senate District’s 2002
Woman of the Year. Authored Pancho Barnes-A
Legend in Her Own Time. Lancaster Cemetery District
Manager.
5/2/2015
Margaret L. Castle McAnally served in the Women Air
Force Service Pilots (WASP). She received her pilot’s
license through the Civilian Pilot Training program at
Antelope Valley Junior College. Her instructor was
Florence “Pancho” Barnes. In April of 1943, she headed
for training in Sweetwater, TX in the class of 43-W-6,
completing her training by October. She flew the
following airplanes: PT-22, C-47, B-25, AT-6, P-39, P51, P-47, P-63, P-38, A-20, B-26 and P-40. After her
training in Texas, she was stationed at both the Long
Beach Army Air Base and Palm Springs Army Air Base
where she was part of the Ferry Command. In 2010, she
received the Congressional Gold Medal, awarded to the
WASP flyers for their courageous service.
Marilyn Anita Dalrymple
CA
Antelope Valley
Lancaster
Barbara Little
CA
Antelope Valley
Lancaster
3/8/1918
Margaret L. Castle McAnally
Dorothy Bizzini has spent a life time in the Central
Valley of California, going to school, raising a family
and devoting her life to helping others. Her education
includes earning her AA in Registered Nursing, her BA
in Nursing Education and a minor in Business. She also
holds a Lifetime Teaching Credential in Health
Education and a Health Counseling and Guidance
Certificate. She has used her background in business,
management, organization and training in various
community,
educational,
medical
and
state
organizations. She serves on various boards and
committees throughout the area. She also has taken her
skills abroad, serving on teams in Romania, Venezuela,
Ghana, Guatemala, Philippines, Belize, Mexico,
Nicaragua and Kenya.
Volunteered in the Antelope Valley since moving here
in 1970. Programs for which she has volunteered are
Mira Loma Hospital, Special Olympics, Word AV
(adult literacy program), and Pet Assisted Therapy after
school reading and homework program. Dalrymple is
the originator of Respect for Parents Day – August 1st.
She has authored two children’s books and coauthored
It’s Tough Growing Up: Children’s Stories of
Courage.”
5/21/1996
CO
Friday’s Council
Tree
Windsor
CO
Sarah Platt
Decker
Durango
Carolyn Andrews
1938
1925
4/12/2015
10/10/2009
2/17/2014
Elizabeth Morley Cowles
Ballantine
CO
Friday’s Council
Tree
Windsor
CO
Sarah Platt
Decker
Durango
Victoria Carroll
1945
10/1/1855
Sarah Platt Decker
4/12/2015
1912
7/11/2015
Carolyn Andrews is the welcoming face of the Ft.
Collins Civil War Round Table. Ten years ago, she and
her husband started the group with 6 people, thinking it
might last 6 months. After her husband’s death, Carolyn
continued to facilitate the 60-member group. She
worked 28 years at the Education and Life Training
Center, then served on their board. Carolyn is a tireless
volunteer, receiving a “Points of Light” award from
President Bush. She has volunteered at the hospital and
the Ft. Collins Welcome Center for fifteen years. She
also volunteers with the “No One Dies Alone” program.
Editor and Publisher of Durango Herald, Cortez Journal,
Mancos Times, and Dolores Star. Morley Cowles
Ballantine was a prominent, long-time Colorado
newspaper editor-publisher. Through her writing, social
and community activism, philanthropy, and dedication
to her region, she furthered women’s rights and equality
while also advancing education and culture in Southwest
Colorado. By 1957, the Ballantines had established the
Ballantine Family Fund to support nonprofit causes to
“better the human condition.” Through the fund, with
Morley at its helm as president, the Ballantine Fund
promoted Fort Lewis College’s development from a
rural campus to a prestigious four-year college that is
central to Colorado’s Southwest.
Victoria Carroll, RN, MSN, worked for 38 years.
Noticing that 1/3 of nurses suffered violence in the work
place, Vicki was not content to just write articles. With
others, she created a survey to pinpoint areas for safety
improvement and assembled a database of speakers on
workplace safety. She was also involved with the
Nursing Historical Society (to preserve the early history
of nursing), the Colorado Nurses Foundation
(Scholarship Advisor), and the Colorado Nurses
Association (2014 Sustained contributions Award
winner for 10 years of dedicated service to Nursing.)
First woman to serve on Colorado Board of Pardons;
first President of Denver Women’s Club; National
President of Federation of Associated Women’s Clubs.
Elected to Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1990.
CO
Front Range
Broomfield
11/7
3/14/2015
Joyce Downing was elected Mayor of the City of
Northglen, Colorado in 2010 and still holds that
position. As mayor, she establishes and enforces city
policy, presides over city council meetings and signs all
legally binding documents. Downing retired from U.S.
West in 1990 and opened an estate liquidation business
shortly afterwards. She was appointed as the Ward II
representative on city council in 1990, where she served
until 2004. After taking a break due to term limits, she
returned to council in 2008.
3/27/2014
Justina Ford (1871-1952) was the first licensed African
American female doctor in Colorado. Having graduated
from medical school in Chicago, she and her husband
moved to Denver in 1902. When she applied for a
Colorado medical license, she was told, “You’ve got
two strikes against you…first you’re a lady, and second,
you’re colored.” Prohibited from practicing in hospitals,
she treated patients in her home. In spite of race and
gender discrimination, she persisted in providing muchneeded medical care to the disadvantaged and
underprivileged of Denver, regardless of their ability to
pay. Justina Ford was a true humanitarian.
From early childhood, Kim yearned to fly. In 1959 she
made a parachute jump, becoming part of a developing a
new sport in the U.S.. Challenged by competitive
parachuting, she was competing on the National level,
mostly against men, by 1961. The next year the United
States sent a Women’s Team to the 6th World
Championships. Kim says, “what an honor to be on that
team, standing under the United States flag, hearing our
National Anthem, and receiving the Gold.” In
September 2013 induction into the National Skydiving
Museum’s Hall of Fame for ongoing contributions to
developing the sport and organizing its early history was
another great honor
For 30 years, Olga Little, the west’s only known woman
“jack-whacker” ran a burro train in the
LaPlata
mountain range in Colorado. She operated her jack train
out of Durango carrying supplies to miners in high and
remote regions where many veteran men packers refused
to go. Between 1909 and 1947, she packed supplies into
practically every mine in the area. When news of her
unusual occupation became known, Olga Little was
interviewed for magazines, newspapers, radio shows and
special appearances. In 1939, she and a string of burros
appeared in front of the Denver Post Building, where
she gave a demonstration in packing.
Joyce Downing
CO
Colorado
Denver
1/22/1871
10/14/1952
Justina Laurena Ford
CO
Frances Wisebart
Jacobs
Denver
CO
Sarah Platt
Decker
Durango
Kimberly Emmons Knor
4/10/1939
7/26/1883
Olga Little
2/21/2014
9/7/1970
2/21/2015
CO
Front Range
Broomfield
3/14/2015
Nancy McNally
CO
Mount Rosa
Littleton
2/4/1913
10/24/2005
3/2/2015
9/21/1801
12/4/1895
3/7/2015
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
CO
Overland Trail
LaPorte
Elizabeth Hickok Robbins Stone
CO
Front Range
Broomfield
6/24/1952
Joyce Thomas
3/14/2015
Nancy McNally retired as the Mayor of the City of
Westminster, Colorado in 2013. She was appointed in
July, 2004 and then elected in 2005 and 2009. Nancy
served on the Jefferson County School Board from
1989-1997 and as President 1995-1997. She was
elected to the City of Westminster City Council in 2001.
While on council, she served for many years on multiple
boards and as a liaison. She graduated from and joined
the alumni of both the Citizen Fire Academy and the
Citizen Police Academy. Nancy started Westminster
Cares to help strengthen the city and its citizens.
Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white
passenger on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama
stirred a citywide boycott, spurred national efforts to end
segregation of public facilities and brought Parks’ name
to national headlines. Rosa attended a segregated school
until 11th grade. At the encouragement of her husband,
Raymond Parks, she ultimately received her high school
diploma in 1933. A few of her accomplishments include
receiving the Springgarn Medal, the Martin Luther King,
Jr. Award, the presidential Medal of Freedom and the
Congressional Gold Medal along with co-founding the
Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation and the Rosa and
Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development.
Elizabeth “Auntie” Stone was married and widowed
twice. At the age of 62, she was the first white woman
who came to Camp Collins in northern Colorado. She
built the first house in town and it provided a mess for
the Army Officers and later the first hotel. Auntie Stone
was the first midwife in town. She financed and started
many businesses in Fort Collins including a mill and
then a kiln for making brick. Fort Collins is the city it is
today through her efforts in the late 1800’s. She is
remembered as the Founding Mother of Fort Collins
Joyce Thomas is the current Mayor of the City of
Federal Heights, Colorado. When Joyce’s 2nd term as
Mayor ends in November 2015, she will have served the
city for 19 years. Joyce received her CPA (Certified
Public Accountant) license in 1992. In August, 1992
she and her husband, Harold, started A-OK Motors.
Joyce is still the General Manager. Joyce applied for
and was appointed to the Planning and Zoning
Commission of Federal Heights in 1996. She ran for
and was elected to Charter Commission in 2000.
Council in 2001 and 2005 and Mayor in 2007 and 2011.
She also volunteers at Thrive Church for the food bank
and soup kitchen.
CO
Peace Pipe
Denver
10/30/1939
Emily Howell Warner
CO
Front Range
Broomfield
2/5/1971
3/14/2015
Heidi Williams
FL
Amelia Island
1/13/1935
Fernandina
Beach
9/2005
4/15/2015
MaVynee Betsch
FL
Barefoot Beach
Bonita Springs
10/29/1959
Mei-Mei Chan
11/5/2014
Emily Howell Warner is an American airline pilot and
the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline. In
1973, Warner was the first woman pilot hired by a
scheduled U.S. airline, and in 1976 the first woman to
become a U.S. airline captain. She is recognized by
multiple halls of fame; including the National Aviation
Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Her pilot’s uniform is displayed at Smithsonian’s
National Air and Space Museum. Additionally, Warner
was a flight school manager in Denver, a flight
instructor, and FAA designated flight examiner holding
multiple ratings. She is retired
Heidi Williams, the current Mayor of the City of
Thornton, Colorado, is a Colorado native. In addition to
serving her community as Mayor, Heidi owns a thriving
bookkeeping business, sits on several boards and
volunteers throughout the community. Heidi enjoys the
support of her husband and three children. Her first
community service experiences were with her church in
the early 2000s and as the Committee Chair for her
son’s Cub Scout Pack. She served as a Director on the
Adams Board, 12 Board of Education, Chair of the
Thorton Revitalization Advisory Board and Vice
President of the Uniform Retailers Association Board.
MaVynee Betsch, the “Beach Lady” has been the
subject of articles in numerous publications chronicling
her deep convictions, extraordinary courage, razor-sharp
intelligence and impish wit, including the New York
Times, USA Today, Essence, Preservation
(the
magazine of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation), Sierra (the magazine of the Sierra Club),
Coastal Living, and Southern Living. She has also been
featured on CBS and CNN.
“From poverty to publisher,” Chan said, “I am
America’s dream come true…”. Mei-Mei Chan
immigrated from China with her parents in 1967. They
believed America was the Land of Opportunity and MeiMei has proven that many times over. After receiving a
B.A. in communications from the University of Illinois,
she held leadership positions with several national
newspapers and helped launch USA Today in 1982 and
was associate editor of USA Weekend. Since 2010, she
has been president and publisher of Gannet Publishing’s
News-Press in Ft. Myers, Florida. Mei-Mei is the
founding president of the Washington D.C. Chapter of
the Asian American Journalists Association. She sits on
several Boards and has an impressive list of
accomplishments.
FL
Commodore John
Barry
1954
Melbourne
Beach
4/11/2015
Margot Dorfman
FL
John Bartram
The Villages
5/12/1826
7/21/1885
3/20/2015
12/24/1920
8/14/13
4/11/2015
Dora Ann Fletcher Drawdy
FL
Fontenada
Pompano Beach
Jean Hughes
FL
Winding Waters
Spring Hill
Iris Kleintop
10/15/1926
1/16/2014
Margot Dorfman is dedicated to dramatically advancing
the economic and leadership opportunities for women.
As a founder and CEO of the U.S. Women’s Chamber
of Commerce, she lead the organization’s dramatic
growth to over 500,000 individual and business
members including dozens of national and regional
associations; championed opportunities to increase
women’s business, career and leadership advancement;
and launched the USWCC-New Deal initiative to
establish a broad new economic platform to support the
growth and influence of women in the American
economy. Ms Dorfman’s work will make a difference
in the history of women’s equal rights and equal pay.
According to Lake County, Florida’s early history, Dora
Ann Drawdy and her husband relocated from their
native Georgia to Florida in 1846, becoming the first
permanent settlers near present Lake Dora. As a pioneer
mother with three children, the young woman also
provided room and board at her homestead to
government surveyors from 1846-1848. In appreciation
for Mrs. Drawdy’s hospitality, the gentlemen designated
the nearby waters as Lake Dora. In 1883, the lakeside
town of Royellou was renamed Mt. Dora, honoring the
early resident and highlighting the area’s 184 foot
elevation—impressive for the low lying state.
Jean Hughes, a 74 year NSDAR member, joined John
Paul Chapter in Madison, Indiana on February 1, 1939
after membership in C.A.R. She served as a National
Page at the 1939 Continental Congress, Regent for the
Fontenada Chapter in 1973 (two years) and Vice Regent
in 1976 (two years). She became Honorary Regent in
2013. Outside of DAR, she was a Methodist Lay
Minister in Arkansas, Red Cross chairman and an Elder
in the Presbyterian Church. Always full of joy
exuberance for life, Jean’s life work of giving has been
an inspiration to all in Fontenada Chapter.
Iris Kleintop was 16 years old when she left her home in
Tarboro, NC with her cousin, Mary, to take a train to
Dayton, Ohio to go to work at Wright Patterson AFB as
a civilian volunteer to FDR’s National Youth
Administration. This was a part of Roosevelt’s National
Recovery Act. The purpose of the NYA was to provide
jobs for rural youth, especially the women while the
men were on the front. Iris became a “Rosie the
Riveter” and donned the man’s trousers, steel-toed boots
and iconic red polka dot headscarf and started her job
repairing parts of instrument clusters for the airplanes.
FL
Fort Cooper
Inverness
FL
Seminole
West Palm
Beach
Florence E. Chromulak McCann
4/2/1924
6/29/1930
3/3/2015
11/3/2011
2/7/2015
Maryly VanLeer Peck
FL
Manatee
Anna Maria
3/13/2015
Cathy Slusser
FL
Patriots
Sebring
4/23/1920
Barry Vincent Smith
4/6/2015
In 1943, when only 19, Mrs. McCann enlisted in the
Navy (WAVES) after seeing a recruiting poster. She
felt this was an opportunity for her to do her patriotic
duty. She had her legal guardian sign for her since the
legal age was 21. She was sent to Hunter College in NY
and was processed as a WAVE. She was then
transferred to Oklahoma to learn the “Navy way” of
doing secretarial duties. Later that year, she was
assigned as a yeoman third class o the U.S. Navy Bureau
of ships in Washington DC. She marched in many
parades and witnessed President Roosevelt’s funeral
procession. She spent most of her enlistment in
Washington DC, where she met her future husband.
Maryly VanLeer Peck, PH.D was a lifelong advocate for
women in science. She organized most of the student
chapters of the society of Women Engineers in Florida,
and she was the first woman chosen to head a Florida
Community College as president. She endowed
scholarships for women at Polk State College who went
on to study engineering at the University of Florida.
The first woman to receive an advanced degree at the
state university in 1955, she went to work on rocket fuel
development. That brought her to the attention of Life
Magazine in 1962 as one of the 100 “most important
young people in America.” In 2006, she was inducted
into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame for her notable
contributions in academia.
Cathy Slusser, a second generation Floridian; Bachelor’s
Degree in history from Furman University in Greenville,
SC and a Master’s Degree at the University of South
Florida; Director of Historical Resources for Manatee
County Clerk of Circuit Court, Manatee County; author
of the trilogy, From a Heavenly Land; alter ego and
presenter of Mary Gates an original settler of Manatee
County. Cathy oversees the Historical Records Library,
Manatee Village Historical Park, Florida Maritime
Museum, the Palmetto Historical Park and the Manatee
Agricultural Museum.
In 1944 she learned that female aviators would soon be
accepted as Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)
to test aircraft and fly support missions, freeing up men
for combat roles. Each week she went by bus or hitch
hiked to flight school. 25,000 women interviewed, less
than 2,000 were accepted and 1,074 made it through
training and earned their wings. She flew dozens of
military planes, wore uniforms, but had no rank. The
WASP program was disbanded December 20, 1944. In
2009 WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold
Medal, the highest and most distinguished award
Congress can give a civilian.
GA
Atlanta
Atlanta
8/11/1810
3/12/1877
3/11/2015
Octavia Walton
GA
James Waldrop
Fayetteville
11/26/1964
1/17/2015
11/29/1946
3/14/2015
Rebecca Hollis Ryckeley
GA
Atlanta
Atlanta
Marjorie Singley-Hall
IA
DeShon
Boone
1/9/1859
Carrie Lane Chapman Catt
3/9/1947
4/2014
Octavia Walton, granddaughter of George Walton,
signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a highly
educated woman for her time. She met royalty,
presidents, Washington Irving and Henry Clay. During
the 1855 Paris Exhibition, Octavia was the only female
commissioner. She was elected Vice Regent of the
Mount Vernon Ladies Association in 1858 and served
until her death. During the Civil War, she nursed
wounded soldiers. Octavia was a shining star whose
important contributions to American History have gone
the way of the wind and Cherokee Chapter is pleased to
remember her.
Rebecca Hollis Ryckeley has a passion for American
History that she has imparted as a teacher and as a
Social Studies County Coordinator. Degrees include
University of Virginia (BS in International Relations),
Georgia State University (MAT in History) and
currently working on her PhD in Education Policy
Standards. Becky made history come alive to her high
school students and now mentors teachers to excel. She
served as President of four Social Studies organizations
and awards include: Outstanding Social Studies
Supervisor in Georgia, Outstanding Social Studies
Educator in Georgia, Starr’s Mill High Star Teacher,
Who’s Who of American History High School Teachers.
Marjorie Singley-Hall chairs the Atlanta Advisory
Board of the Women’s Leadership Exchange, and is an
Advisory Board Member of the Women’s Leadership
Forum. Marjorie was recently elected to the Board and
Executive Committee of the World Trade Center,
Atlanta. She is a past board member of the Technology
Association of Georgia (TAG), and chaired the Atlanta
Women’s Alliance Center Auxiliary. Marjorie was
honored as one of 100 women internationally to receive
the International Alliance of Women World Difference
Award that recognizes women whose efforts have
advanced the economic empowerment of women.
Carrie Catt grew up in Charles City, Iowa and was class
valedictorian at Iowa State University in 1880. Catt
devoted most of her life to the expansion of women’s
rights around the world. She is recognized as one of the
key leaders of the American Women’s Suffrage
Movement. Her skills led to the ratification of the 19th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting to all
women the federal guarantee of full voting rights. She
was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in
1975 and the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1982.
IA
Marion Linn
Marion
11/26/1925
Jean Elizabeth Liabo Oxley
IA
DeShon
Boone
10/11/1884
11/7/1962
3/21/2015
Eleanor Roosevelt
IL
Capt. William
Penny
Chatham
12/5/1947
4/11/2015
9/11/1918
11/8/2011
Kathryn Harris
IL
Alliance
UrbanaChampaign
Jill Pitts Knappenberger
Jean Oxley, University of Iowa graduate and former
teacher, is a visionary and champion of the voiceless
population. Her tireless efforts were guided toward
youth, the handicapped, and health care and insurance
costs for the elderly. To prevent mentally disabled in
Linn County from being institutionalized, she led a fight
for Home Services. To keep juveniles from being put
with adult prisoners, she pushed for the Juvenile
Detention Center and Youth Shelter, one of the first in
Iowa. She was elected to six terms (24 years) to the
Board of Supervisors, Linn County. The Linn County
Administrative Office Bldg in Cedar Rapids was named
the Jean Oxley Linn County Public Service Center in
her honor.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the favorite niece of her
uncle, Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United
States, and the wife of the 32 President of the United
States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor has the
potential to speak out on important issues and used her
influence as a force separate from the President, to
extend opportunities for women, Black Americans, the
under-privileged, and minority groups who lacked equal
chances. She represented the United States at the United
Nations in drafting of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. President Harry S. Truman recognized
Eleanor as the “First Lady of the World.”
Kathryn Harris serves as Library Services Director of
the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield,
Illinois. She joined the Illinois State Historical Library
staff in 1990 and named its Director in 1996. With the
opening of the ALPL in 2004, Harris assumed her
current title. She has served on several boards,
including President of the Sangamon County Historical
Society and the Abraham Lincoln Association. Harris
has portrayed “Elizabeth Keckley” and has appeared as
“Sadie Delany” on stage. In addition, she performs as
“Harriet Tubman” for school and community groups.
Harris is a graduate of the UIUC Graduate School of
Library and Information Science.
During WWII, Miss Pitts served with the American Red
Cross in a Club Mobile named Cheyenne. There were
ten Club Mobile Groups, consisting of eight Club
Mobiles staffed and driven by American girls, first in
England and then on the Continent after D-Day. The
Club Mobiles had a complete kitchen with a donut
making machine, doughnut racks, coffee urns, Victrola,
public address system and record library. They also
gave out gum, cigarettes and moral support for the GIs.
Jill’s Club Mobile landed at Utah Beach on July 31,
1944. They were detained for six days behind enemy
lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Jill earned five
battle stars for her European Theater Operation ribbon.
IL
Chicago
Chicago
3/25/1878
1/27/1962
2/21/2015
1938-“Fanny” presented $250,000 to establish the
Harvard University Department of Legal Medicine.
Two years later she presented the university with over
1,000 volumes from her personal collection to organize
the McGrath Library of Legal Medicine.1943-Fanny
was appointed “State Police Captain” in
New
Hampshire. She became the first female member of the
International Association of Chiefs of Police.1940sFanny created 19 miniature rooms depicting crime
scenes, which were used for the study and analysis of
evidence by police officials. The rooms were known as
the “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.” The
“Nutshells” are still used in forensic analysis.
7/3/1879
1/14/1966
9/16/2014
2/5/1802
2/29/1864
9/16/2014
Miss Morron was a philanthropist and active community
service worker in Peoria. She traveled extensively in
Europe collecting many artifacts, with some being
donated to the Lincoln Home restoration in Springfield,
Illinois. At her death, her home, formerly owned by
Moses Pettengill, and its contents were given to the
Peoria Historical Society. The house museum was
established with her collection of furnishings and
artifacts, the majority of which belonged to her
grandparents, John and Sarah Reynolds, who settled in
Peoria in 1836. She left an estate with bequests of
$240,000 to charitable institutions and a $1.5 million
trust for charitable purposes.
Lucy and Moses Pettengill came to Peoria in 1834. As a
founding member, Lucy taught Sunday School classes
for young girls at the Main Street Presbyterian Church.
The church worked for social reform and took up the
anti-slavery cause. Lucy was the first Directress elected
for the Female Anti-Slavery Society of Peoria. The
original Pettengill home became a stop on the
underground railroad. They were friends with Abraham
Lincoln, hosting Mr. Lincoln when he traveled through
Peoria. During the Civil War, Lucy and the women of
the church took an active part in relief work, sending
supplies to the soldiers.
Phyllis Preston is a DAR member, community volunteer
and re-enactor of living history. Phyllis is a member of
the River Valley Colonials. Uniformed as a
Massachusetts 4th Regiment of the Continental Line,
RVC strives to provide an educational and enjoyable
experience for audiences and re-enactors alike. Along
with the RVC, Phyllis performs in 8-12 military
encampments a year during a season. RVC is a fully
armed infantry and authentic military camp. Phyllis has
given speeches to various organizations while dressed in
period clothing.
Frances Glessner Lee
IL
Peoria
Peoria
Jean McLean Morron
IL
Peoria
Peoria
Lucy Pettengill
IL
Fort Payne
Naperville
8/14/1956
Phyllis A. Preston
4/12/2015
IL
Isaac Hull
Salem
5/21/1974
3/28/2011
4/20/2015
10/1/1832
10/25/1892
3/7/2015
Sara Elizabeth Stubblefield
IN
Caroline Scott
Harrrison
Indianapolis
IN
Tippecanoe
River/Wythougan
Plymouth/
Boubon
Caroline Scott Harrison
4/13/1943
3/10/2015
12/29/1974
3/4/2015
Linda Wiseman Rippy
KY
Bryan Station
Lexington
Heather Renee French Henry
Though Sara Stubblefield’s life was shaped by the
challenges of living with epilepsy, she accepted her
condition with grace, dignity and courage, and refused
to allow it to limit her. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree
in Psychology, received a Master in Social Work from
Washington University in St. Louis, and became a
Licensed clinical Social Worker. Sara founded a Walk
for Epilepsy to raise awareness and to raise funds for
support services. Sara became a nationally known
advocate for epilepsy until her untimely death in 2011.
The national Epilepsy Foundation began recognizing a
“Sara Stubblefield Advocate of the Year” at its yearly
conference.
Fearless leader of many “firsts”.
First President General, NSDAR. First: to request
greenhouses for the White House, to raise funds for John
Hopkins University Medical School on condition that
women be admitted, to give a speech as sitting first
Lady, bring electricity and telephone service to White
House, catalogue previous administrations china and
patterns, to erect a White House Christmas tree,
organize French and Art classes in White House.
Devoted over 50 years to Marshall County Historical
Society. Director since 1997. Graduate: Ancilla
College. Conceived and assisted in designing
Museum’s Transportation Room about the importance
of 5 National Roads dissecting the county and spanning
the United States; area includes popular Model Train
Room. Museum won Indiana Historical Society Award
in 2014 for “remarkable public services and programs
provided to its community. Active in Lincoln Highway
Association and local boards for the improvement of
community and county.
Miss America, 2000, Heather Renee French Henry, the
daughter of a disabled Vietnam vet, established her
Foundation for Veterans to raise the ideas of patriotism
and educate young and old about the sacrifice made by
the men and women who have served our nation. The
Foundation quickly grew into a national appeal for
improved healthcare, housing, disability and benefits for
veterans. She worked with members of Congress to
establish legislation, named in her honor as The Heather
French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act to
create new opportunities for community outreach in the
Department of Veterans Affairs. She has
been
appointed by the Governor of KY as Commissioner of
Veteran Affairs.
KY
Bryan Station
Lexington
1997
3/4/2015
Harriet Van Meter
KY
Williamsburg
William Whitley
MA
Lexington
Lexington
5/28/1924
4/2015
5/22/1930
9/17/2014
Marcella Faulkner Mountjoy
Ann Baddour
MA
First Resistance
1742
Great
Barrington
Mum Bett;
Aka, Elizabeth Freeman
12/28/1829
6/16/2014
Harriet Van Meter had an unquenchable volunteer
spirit. When she saw a need, she addressed it. In her
40s, she went back to school to finish college and
complete a Master’s Degree – Phi Beta Kappa. The
culmination of her volunteer spirit was the founding of
the International Book Project and her drive to bring
peace and understanding to the people of the world
through literacy—or as she said, “one book at a time.”
She was a finalist for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and
to this day the International Book Project has shipped
more than 5 million books to individuals, schools and
organizations around the world.
Ms. Mountjoy was one of the first prospective members
of the William Whitley Chapter. She joined the DAR in
April 1965. She has served as Regent and Chaplain.
Marcella is a graduate of Cumberland Academy,
Cumberland College and Vanderbilt University. She
was an educator for 18 years. She was elected the first
woman mayor of Williamsburg, KY in 1990. Ms.
Mountjoy served on the Historical Preservation
Committee of Williamsburg. Marcella makes it her
responsibility to visit graves of veterans of historic wars
to ensure that grave markers are still legible.
In 1997 Anne was the first woman test pilot to be
selected by the Lincoln Laboratories Flight Test Facility.
She was cleared for secret missions. In 1985 she ferried
a single Mooney 252 from Bedford, MA to Reykjavik,
Iceland under instrument rules. On that flight she
established eleven national and world records. She
received the Harmon trophy for those achievements.
She has founded several scholarships for aspiring pilots
and mechanics and created on ongoing Aviation
Scholarship and Auction for the Aero Club of New
England (ACONE). She is involved in the formation of
the Massachusetts Air and Space Museum.
Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett), the slave woman who
sued for and won her freedom, is known for her role in
the abolishment of slavery in Massachusetts. While
seeking her freedom from slavery, she also played an
unwitting role as a pioneer of women’s rights. When
Colonial American males were contemplating their
freedom from England’s tyranny, she gave no regard to
her gender as she considered her right for freedom from
slavery, then had the audacity to take action. She
became a respected midwife/nurse, financially
independent, and eventually owned her own home. She
is truly a courageous American women rights pioneer
MA
State Society
Taunton
12/25/1960
9/13/2014
Ellen Wood Groschell Houlihan
MD
Mary Digges Lee
Laurel
6/16/1738
8/12/1816
12/2014
9/10/1914
6/7/2007
Fall/2014
Mary Katherine Goddard
MD
Carrollton Manor
Buckeystown
Sister Marguerite Therese Leary
Ellen Houlihan, Vice Chair Board of Directors, West
Point Association of Graduates, is the first West Point
woman graduate to be elected to the senior leadership
role of the 50,000 West Point graduate members. Ellen
graduated in the third West Point class that integrated
women into the Corps of Cadets. She is the first woman
West Point graduate elected President of her class and
the first woman President of a local West Point Alumni
Club. In 2014 she received national recognition as a
White House Champion of Change. A valued member
of Lexington Chapter, NSDAR, Ellen was Regent from
2001-2004.
Mary Katherine Goddard was an active player in the
newspaper business, pursuing the work of typesetting,
printing and journalism. She operated the Maryland
Journal, one of the first newspapers to report on the
events of Lexington and Concord. Recognizing the
excellence of her paper, Congress granted Mary
Katherine Goddard the honor of publishing the first
copy of the Declaration of Independence with all of the
signatories listed. Mary Katherine Goddard was
appointed Baltimore’s postmaster in 1775, “the only
female postmaster in office when the
Second
Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as
the first Postmaster General of the United Colonies”
Mother Marguerite Leary, V.H.M. lived 78 years at the
Visitation Academy and Cloistered Monastery in
downtown Frederick, MD. The Academy, run by
cloistered women in the Order of the Visitation since
1846. In the 1960’s, Mother Marguerite stepped outside
of the monastery walls to challenge the razing of a city
block to build a new post office facility. Her eloquence
in describing the irreplaceable charm of the
neighborhood and need to protect histories architecture,
lead to a ruling against the plans. Mother Marguerite’s
efforts helped to establish the Historic District of
Downtown Frederick that still exists today.
MD
Mary Digges Lee
Laurel
1745
1/25/1805
12/2014
9/15/1727
3/26/1793
12/2014
1720
3/23/1775
9/13/2014
8/17/1971
12/29/1920
3/11/2015
Mary Digges Lee
MD
MD
Mary Digges Lee
Laurel
Ann Arundel
Annapolis
Anne Frisby Fitzhugh
Anne Catherine Hoof Green
MD
General Levin
Winder
Pokomoke City
Rozelle Purnell Handy
Mary Digges married Thomas Sim Lee, who served two
terms as governor of Maryland. As Maryland’s First
Lady, Mary Lee played an active role in supporting the
troops while they were engaged in war. George
Washington appealed for help to support the struggling
troops for fear that Maryland militia might have to
disband for lack of provisions. The energetic Mary Lee
rallied the women of Maryland to raise money and sew
shirts and other clothing items to help the troops. The
Council of Maryland wrote Mary Lee expressing
gratitude for 260 shirts from Maryland women.
Anne Frisby married Colonel William Fitzhugh, a
Virginia-born colonel in the British army. Though
Fitzhugh was in feeble health, and almost blind, he
resigned his commission and took an active part with the
patriots. When British soldiers approached the house,
Anne Fitzhugh armed the slaves and confronted the
soldiers. Late in the Revolution, when the British
soldiers arrested Colonel Fitzhugh and planned to take
him to New York, Anne refused to be separated from
her husband. The soldiers hearing a gunshot and fearing
patriots were gathering to free the Fitzhughs, agreed to
let Colonel Fitzhugh to remain free on his parole.
Anne Green’s husband, Jonas Green, revived the
Maryland Gazette as the only weekly paper prior to the
Revolutionary War. While giving birth to fourteen
children (only six lived past childhood), Mrs. Green
learned all aspects of the printing business and took over
the shop upon her husband’s death in 1767. Maryland
legislators noted her skill and professionalism and
named her Maryland’s official public printer for
producing government forms, records, and paper
currency. She proved to be an accomplished
businesswoman and influenced patriot cause and
political debate on the eve of the American Revolution.
Rozelle Purnell Handy was a woman ahead of her time.
She saw a real need to improve education by
establishing an organization called the Friendly Library
that evolved into Worcester Public Co. Library. Ms
Handy provided books to those who never had access by
using her prominent family’s vast library and generous
donations from other community members. The library
started in her home, then transferred to the Berlin
Community Center. She took her books ‘on the road’
via horse and buggy for further access. She was the first
President of the Worcester County Women’s Club and a
staunch supporter of women’s rights.
MI
Chief Shawano
Gaylond
1915
11/1/1944
3/8/2014
1827
1871
1/18/2014
Aleda E. Lutz
MN
Greysolon
Daughters of
Liberty
Duluth
MN
Anthony Wayne
Mankato
Dorothea Elizabeth Allen
Shirley Matteson Grundmeier
7/26/1924
10/17/2014
MN
Greysolon
Daughters of
Liberty
Duluth
Rebecca Henry
1741
2/14/2014
Aleda, after graduation from Arthur Hill HS, continued
her education at Saginaw General Hospital of Nursing
School. She was one of the first nurses to be trained as a
flight nurse in the U.S. Army Air Force. On 25 Dec,
1942, Aleda was sent into Tunisia as part of the 802nd
Medical Evacuation Squadron. . Aleda landed on the
Anzio Beach head while it was under fire. She earned 6
battle stars, logged in 814 combat hours, 196 evacuation
sorties and over 3,500 transported patients. More than
any other Flight Nurse. Aleda was killed on 1
November, 1944 when the Medevac she was serving
crashed into Mt. Pilat near Deizieu, France. She is
buried in Rhone Cemetery and honored to have both
U.S. and French Flags at her grave. Aleda is named as
the first American woman in the military to die in action
during WWII. She received many awards and the VA
Hospital in Saginaw, MI is named after her – The Aleda
E. Lutz Veterans Administration Medical Center.
She was the wife of Jay Cooke who was an American
financier who helped finance the Union War during the
Civil War and post war development of railroads. After
the war, his firm financed the development of the
Northern Pacific railway. Cooke fell in love with
Duluth and decided he must make it successful-the new
Chicago. He began purchasing railways with the dream
of reaching the Pacific to bring goods through Duluth to
the Great Lakes shipping system. As his wife, she was
influential and involved in his business.
At age 50 Shirley enrolled in Minnesota State
University, Mankato and earned three degrees in Music
and Performing Arts. For years she provided
scholarships in Music and Performing Arts to students
of her Alma Mater. Shirley and her husband were the
largest contributors of time and money to the college.
Shirley does research and writing for the newsletter at
the Blue Earth County Historical Society. One article
traced the 100-year history of her Chapter. She cochaired the 100 year Anniversary Celebration of her
Chapter
Rebecca discussed her life during the Revolutionary
War. She described growing up in Colonial America
and how she met and married her husband, Aaron
Henry, cousin to the famous Patrick Henry. Describing
the turmoil she told us about the nation’s call to duty,
her experiences with her husband in the battlefield and
the invasion of her home by the British.
MN
Keewaydin
Minneapolis
5/12/1968
4/2/2015
10/6/1938
3/10/201
2/12/1929
11/15/2014
Kim Heikkila
MN
Anoka
Anoka
MN
Anthony Wayne
Mankato
Catherine Jane Walter McDonald
Mary Dennison Nelson
MN
Anoka
Anoka
7/2/1909
Helen Amalia Strand
3/11/2014
3/10/2015
Kim earned her Ph.D. in American Studies at University
of Minnesota. She completed an oral history project for
the Minnesota Historical Society that focused on nurses
who served in Vietnam, which became the basis of her
book Sisterhood of War. She teaches courses on the
war, the sixties, U.S. and women’s history at St.
Catherine University. She formerly taught a course on
the Vietnam War at Anoka Ramsey Community
College; all students were trained to do oral history
interviews with Vietnam veterans for the Library of
Congress’ Veteran’s History Project. In 2006, she
received Postsecondary Teaching Award from Oral
History Association.
Married and raising children, Rev. Cathy McDonald
became the fifth woman Episcopal priest in Minnesota,
served as Chaplain at Fergus Falls Regional Treatment
Center and Shakopee Women’s Prison, was president of
the Fergus Falls ministerial association, and started the
food shelf. In “retirement” was part-time Chaplain at
the Hastings Veteran’s Home, served on the board of
City House and does spiritual listening, retreat Cursillo,
Gutherie volunteer, supply priest and various tasks at her
parish church. Women she has worked with at
Shakopee and City House testify to the great benefit she
has been in helping them improve their lives.
Mary Nelson’s volunteer work includes tutoring
immigrants and refugees preparing for the U.S.
Citizenship Examination. She helped organize and
conduct ten 2-week trips to Mexico for Volunteer
Optometric Services to Humanity where 30-48
volunteers examined the eyes of the poor and distributed
donated eyeglasses to those in need. She gave six years
to gathering volunteers for Salvation Army’s Mobile
Outreach Meals program and works with the Soup and
Pie luncheon to benefit Habitat for Humanity. She
volunteers at her church. Mary has held many offices in
the Anthony Wayne Chapter. She helped research and
write the history of the Chapter.
Born June 2, 1909. Graduate of Winona State Teacher’s
College and St. Olaf College. Helen taught school in
Harmony (Big Springs), Donaldson, Lockhart, Spring
Grove, and Akin, MN. A Lieutenant USNR during
WWII, Navy Department, Bureau of Ordinance. Also
worked at the War Department and Post Office
Department in Washington, D.C. before returning to
Minnesota for her MA and PhD. Professor of Education
at Luther College, Fulbright lecturer in Liberia.
American Lutheran Church Missionary Papua New
Guinea. Board member of “The Bos Project.”
Volunteered at the Center for Victims of Torture.
MO
Alexander
Doniphan
Liberty
10/9/1920
Spring 2015
Bessie Fay Bedinger was a beautician, 1940 runner up
“Miss New Mexico,” and a personnel counselor at the
Parsons, KS ordinance plant early in WWII. Wanting to
do more for the war effort, Fay joined the Navy
WAVES in 1944. She was one of the first 12 women
selected to teach top-secret Norden bombsight. After
the war, she and Navy pilot husband, George W.
Bedinger, returned to his hometown, Liberty, MO. Fay
went on to own a beauty shop and later a furniture
business, get her pilot’s license, serve her community
and raise two children.
3/21/2015
Susan Elizabeth Blow (June 7, 1843 in Carondelet, St.
Louis, MO – March 27, 1916 in New York City, NY)
was a United States educator who opened the first
successful public kindergarten in the United States. She
is known as the “Mother of Kindergarten”. Blow
worked with the Kindergarten Association, along with
teaching at the Teachers College of Columbia University
from 1905-1909. She developed the course known as
“History of Philosophy and Education.” She forever
changed the ideals of educating children. At her death,
the St. Louis Globe-Democrat wrote, “A great
commander is gone, but the soldiers will go marching
on.”
As an experienced educator, Barbara has taught
American History in Missouri, Illinois, and also
Germany for a Department of Defense American
School. She made history come alive for her students
by use of creative portrayals and authentic costumes.
She continues to promote understanding of the roles
women played throughout our country’s history through
her over twenty-five presentations to DAR chapters.
She celebrates women from Martha Washington to
Amelia Earhart. She is on the speaker’s list of the
Illinois Humanity Council as a “Road Scholar”. Barbara
continues to honor our historical women giving her
audience the opportunity to meet them personally.
Betty Knight has served in Missouri as Platte County
Presiding Commissioner, 1995-2010; Platte County
Deputy Treasurer, 1969-2012; Board of Directors
member, National Association of Regional Councils,
2001-2012; and on the Association of Counties Board,
1995-2010. She has also served on multiple boards and
committees and has received national, regional, state and
local leadership awards including Soroptomist
International
Women
of
Distinction,
National
Officeholder of the Year, and Kansas City’s Most
Influential Women. A small business owner from 19692012 and a University of Missouri graduate; Betty is a
wife and mother of two daughters.
Bessie Fay Weir Bedinger
MO
Caroline Close
Stuart
Lake St. Louis
6/7/1843
3/27/1916
Susan Elizabeth Blow
MO
Mary Hempstead
Lisa
Chesterfield
8/18/1956
3/14/2015
9/2/1947
3/14/2015
Barbara L. Kay
MO
Platte Purchase
Platte City
Betty Knight
MO
St. Joseph
St. Joseph
12/22/1939
3/21/2015
2/20/1934
5/12/2015
12/15/1950
3/21/2015
1844
2015
Suzanne Staker Lehr
MO
William
Boydston
Gladstone
Winifred Mae “Freddy” Pound
Nichols
MO
Caroline Close
Stuart
Lake St. Louis
MO
Alexander
Doniphan
Liberty
Suzanne holds three degrees: A.A., B.S., M.S.Ed. She
was
Northwest
Missouri
School
Counselor
Association’s Counselor of the Year, 1990-91 and State
of Missouri School Counselor Association Counselor of
the Year, 1992. She taught all levels from sixth grade
through graduate school. Lehr was named St. Joseph
Museum’s first Research Associate in 2001, at which
time she began researching and archiving Mount Mora
Cemetery’s history. In 2004 she founded the Mount
Moro
Cemetery
Preservation
and
Restoration
Association that has received four preservation awards.
She received the YWCA Women of Excellence in
Volunteering Award and a U.S. Congress Congressional
Award.
Clay County Public Health Center, presently a trustee.
Member of North Kansas City School Board, was
president twice. Member of Gladstone Chamber of
Commerce. Gladstone Parks and Recreation, 12 years.
Northland Chamber of Commerce serving on Parks and
Recreation and Legislative Committees. Clay County
Commissioner. Missouri National Association of Local
Boards of Health, 16 years. Missouri Colonial Dames of
the 17th Century, State President. PTA State Board,
State President, PTA National Board. DAR Midwest
District Director, Past Regent, William Boydston..
Elder and choir member of Barry Christian Church.
Ann Robb Townsend Award. Northlander of the Year.
DAR Community Service Award from William
Boydston Chapter.
Karen Sue Burris Wright was born in Monett, Missouri.
Karen received her BS degree in elementary education
and a Masters degree in curriculum and instruction from
the University of Missouri. She taught first, third and
fifth grade for 21 years at Warren County R-III School
District in Warrenton, Missouri. With a real passion for
history that she shared with her students, she has
collected George Washington memorabilia since 1995.
Since retiring, she shares this in programs with the
DAR, churches and other civic groups in the area.
Karen Sue Burris Wright
Cathy Williams
Cathy Williams was born a slave in Independence,
Missouri. On November 15, 1866, Cathy, disguising
herself as a man named William Cathay, enlisted in
Company A,38th US Infantry. For nearly two years she
served in the ranks of the Buffalo Soldiers. Cathy
Williams remains the only documented black female to
serve as a Buffalo Solider in the US Regular Army.
During her enlistment she experienced hard duty against
the Apache. She marched hundreds of miles with her
regiment down the Santa Fe Trail and, after her faithful
military service and until her death, Cathy made
southeast Colorado her home.
NC
Daniel Boone
Boone
3/9/1873
1/16/1962
3/11/2015
Dr. Mary Martin Sloop
NC
Betsy Dowdy
Elizabeth City
7/4/1920
7/4/2014
5/27/1927
4/2015
3/9/1946
9/12/2015
Shirley Turner Spaeth
NE
Lewis-Clark
Fremont
NE
Fort Kearney
Kearney
Clarabelle Talbot Mares
Lynnda Shaffer
Medical doctor, educator, author, missionary, social
change agent, Dr. Mary Martin Sloop transformed lives
in the Appalachian Mountains around Avery County,
NC. She and her surgeon husband Eustace Sloop
established their medical practice in Crossnore, NC in
1911. Fighting against poor health, child brides, lack of
educational opportunity, “moon shining”, and poverty,
she founded Crossnore School (1913), which provides
room, board, counseling, physical and emotional
healing. Her determination, innovation and love for
others was recognized in 1951 when she was named
America’s Mother of the Year. Her autobiography,
Miracle in the Hills (1953) is inspirational. Crossnore is
sponsored by the NSDAR.
Shirley Turner Spaeth was born in Connecticut on July
4, 1920. By 1942, she had an RN degree. She served
her country in the U. S. Army Nurses Air Corp from
1943-1947. Active in Colonial Dames XVII Century in
North Carolina, she rose to the office of President
General in 1989. Notably, Shirley had a successful
effort to commemorate the state’s three signers of the
United States Constitution. She also served on the
governor’s USS North Carolina Battleship Commission
and the state’s 400th Anniversary Committee. Shirley’s
distinguished career includes DAR service. She is a
member of the Betsy Dowdy Chapter.
Clare has been instrumental in the preservation of
Eastern Nebraska historical and genealogical data for the
past 40 years. She catalogs, researches and files
information for the Eastern Nebraska Genealogical
Society, and assists families with their genealogical
queries, volunteers to teach genealogy classes, gives
presentations on unique gravestones from around the US
and Europe, and works with the
Veterans
Administration to insure that Civil War veterans in the
country have proper tombstones. In addition to her
impressive body of work in genealogy, Clare has served
on the Board for historic Ridge Cemetery and as an
officer in her DAR and DUV chapters.
Lynnda Shaffer has had a passion for learning about her
heritage for as long as she can remember. She has
extensively researched her and her husband’s family
back as far as the 1600s in the United States. She has
been actively involved in her local and state
Genealogical Society since 1980, organizing Buffalo
County’s documents so others can pursue their interests.
Five years ago, she began sharing her expertise and
knowledge by team-teaching Family History classes
with Elaine Batenhorst for Senior College in Kearney.
Both ladies’ wealth of knowledge is appreciated by all
of their students. Lynnda is a member of the Fort
Kearney Chapter of DAR.
NE
Reavis Ashley
Falls City
2/9/1923
3/13/2015
2/13/1954
3/7/2015
10/15/1933
6/3/2015
12/12/1922
5/1/2014
Leota M. Uhri
NH
Reprisal
Newport
Milli S. Kenney Knudson
OK
Bartlesville
Bartlesville
Bettye Williams
OR
Chemeketa
Salem
Marian Beresford
Leota Uhri has led an active life of service, including: 1)
Provided housing to enable students to attend school
activities; 2) Library Board and Band Mothers
President; 3) Chaplain, Vice Grand, and Grand –
Rebekahs; 4) 28 year teacher in Nebraska and Puerto
Rico; 5) Researched and printed a book of Church’s
history, planned celebration of Church’s 155
Anniversary; 6) President of Church’s Administration
Counsel; 7) Reavis Ashley DAR Regent; 8) Member,
Table Rock Historical Society Board; 9) Assists with
Living History Days; 10) Assists with meals at Senior
Center; 11) Provides weekend meals for 104 year old
lady; 12) traveled in U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rice,
Venezuela and may European countries.
Independent researcher, author and speaker.1964present. Published and profiled in Concord NH Monitor,
NH Manchester Union Leader, and Milford NH
Observer. NH News Associated Press, April 24, 2010,
NH Retired Teacher is Vital Clog in Cold Case Unit.
Education: U of ME, B.S. Ed and Social Studies, Cum
Laude, Notre Dame College, M.S., Reading Specialist,
Rivier University, Paralegal and Legal Research.
Teacher in Londonderry, NH School Dist. 1978-2001,
NH Chief Medical Examiners technician, Concord
Hospital 2012-present, NH State Police major Crime
Cold Case Unit; paralegal-Research Assist., 2010present.
Bettye Daily Williams grew up in segregated Oklahoma
near the town of Marietta, the daughter of a farming
family. Knowing and experiencing the discriminations
for African-Americans, Bettye became a member of the
local NAACP and girl scout leader during the 1960’s.
Bettye has done “ground breaking” work in the United
Way,
Association
of
Employee
Assistance
Professionals, Junior Achievement, Women & Children
in Crisis, Alcohol & Drug Center Board. She continues
to serve on two or three boards, including the Salvation
Army. Bettye still mentors young women in the
community, of all races. Important to her is faith in
God.
Marion worked during WWII in the Bombsight Division
of Sacramento Air Depot in Pinuba, CA. She worked on
bombsights brought in from the B-17 & B-26 bombers;
some were reparable and some weren’t. Marian worked
up the ranks to be the only female Senior Mechanic in
the department. She was interviewed for Veterans
History Project & Women’s Memorial Foundation,
American Folk Life Center/Library of Congress in
September 2004 and featured in the August America in
WWII magazine. She continues to speak to school
children and other groups about her role during WWII.
She is active in the B-17 Bomber Museum.
PA
Indiana County
Indiana
2/14/1930
2/21/2015
9/13/1933
2/21/2015
10/24/1929
12/9/2015
1930
12/9/2014
JoAnne McQuilkin
PA
Indiana County
Indiana
PA
Fort McIntosh
Beaver
JoAnne McQuilkin, Past Regent, current Chaplain and
Indian Minute presenter of Indiana County Chapter, PA.
JoAnne’s degree is in Elementary Education. She is
well known in the community for her vast knowledge of
Indiana County History and currently serves on the
committee in planning the 200 year celebration of
Indiana Boro for 2016. Activities include visiting
historical sites, educating and preserving history.
Presented Indian Programs at schools and to scouts.
Volunteers at: Historical and Genealogy Society, Red
Cross, and Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Patricia Simkins, Past Regent Indiana County,
Pennsylvania received her degree in Education from
IUP, taught school for 30 years. With a background in
education, Patricia continues to present in-depth
programs about the Orphan Train, Farmer’s Almanac,
CCC Camps and the Depression. Presents programs
about women during the Revolutionary War and how
women aided the cause for American independence.
Patricia Simkins
Phyllis Snedden
PA
Fort McIntosh
Beaver
Mary Elizabeth Zapsic
In her 40 years as a DAR member, Phyllis has served as
regent, chaplain, and committee chairwoman. She is a
member of Chippewa United Methodist Church, where
she has been a Sunday School teacher, historian and a
member of United Methodist Women. Her many
activities include: member of AAUW, Beaver County
United Way campaign committee, Medical Center
Auxiliary, board member of both Beaver County
Children’s Home and Family Service, past president and
secretary of Beaver County Homemakers, president of
both Outlook Club and New Century Club of Beaver
Falls, past VP of Beaver County Concert Association,
and secretary of Beaver Falls historical Society.
Mary Elizabeth has been a loyal member of our chapter
since 1972. She is a graduate of Rochester High School
and Geneva College, and taught elementary school for
30 years. A member of Park Presbyterian Church in
Beaver, she is an elder and former Sunday School
teacher. Friendship Ridge, a personal care home and
rehab center in Beaver, recently honored Mary Elizabeth
for 8,000 hours of volunteer service. In addition to
serving as past president and historian of the Crimson
Line Auxiliary, she also worked in the snack bar and
assisted residents in daily activities.
SC
Emily Geiger
SC
Henry Middleton
Bluffton
12/13/1957
3/12/2015
Donna Huffman, a thirty year resident of Bluffton, SC,
served as a member of May River Theater Board,
PR/Media Officer of the Bluffton/Hilton Head Rotary
and is serving again as President of the Bluffton Historic
Preservation Society. Mrs. Huffman, as accomplished
photographer, almost single-handedly produced, edited
and distributed the Bluffton Breeze for more than a
decade. She was instrumental in helping make Bluffton
one of the fastest growing small towns in not only SC,
but also the United States during the past two decades.
1/14/2015
Jean Pilk is a nationally renowned portrait artist, the
only woman to be named one of the top five portrait
artists by the LA Times. Her work may be viewed most
extensively in Washington DC. Where she has been
called “one of the Capital’s most sought-after portrayers
of political figures.” Painted official portraits of
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, General
Colin Powell, President Harry S. Truman, J. Edgar
Hoover, Will Rogers, numerous members of Congress,
Governors of SC and VA and a President of Brazil.
Painted portraits of 30 famous American Masons that
hang at Scottish Rite Temple in Washington; and
numerous portraits of the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff that hang in Chairman’s Hall in the Pentagon.
Clemson University graduate, Lisa Sulka operated her
own business 15 years; later becoming the first female
realtor of Hampton Hall, Bluffton. Elected Bluffton
Town Council in 2004; voted Mayor Pro Tem 2007; in
2008 elected Mayor—the first female to hold this office.
Re-elected without opposition 2011. Bluffton’s
population was 1,100 in 2000; in 2005 4,500 and by
2010 it was 14,000. Lisa is Vice Chair of SC
Association of Mayors; Board of Trustees Heritage
Classic Foundation; graduate Riley Institute; Bluffton
Boys and Girls Club Advisory Board; League of
Women Voters and IPTAY’s County Chairman
(Clemson Booster Club).
Jill’s service began with a 27-year career as a U.S. Navy
Reserve Captain and Central Intelligence Agency
Analyst. She’s actively involved in United Network for
Organ Sharing, holding multiple leadership positions,
including membership on the Board of Directors and
Executive Committee. Jill is a volunteer coordinator for
Roane County Imagination Library; increasing funding
for Imagination Library by establishing relationships
with service organizations and local companies. She is a
member of Roane County Chamber of Commerce,
Harriman Rotary, serves as Chairman of the Bethel
Presbyterian Church Trustees, is Past President of
Kingston Rotary, and plays French horn in two bands.
Donna Louise Huffman
Aiken
Jean Pilk
SC
Emily Geiger
Bluffton
3/2/1960
5/10/2014
Lisa Sulka
TN
Avery Trace
Harriman
11/27/2014
Maria “Jill” McMaster
TN
Bonny Kate
Knoxville
TN
Judge David
Campbell
Chattanooga
Edythe Nelle McNabb
4/14/1928
5/13/15
8/22/1942
3/11/2015
9/9/1924
11/11/2014
4/24/1931
11/11/2014
Virginia “June” Kent Scobee
Rodgers
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
Mary Ellen Boren
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
Clara Dee Kleine Bronstad
Ms McNabb joined Bonny Kate Chapter in 1956, as a
Junior member and presently second oldest member. At
age 12 attended dedication of Great Smoky Mountain
National Park on September 2, 1940. She returned for
re-dedication of the Park on September 2, 2009. Mrs.
McNabb taught at both Gibbs and Halls High Schools in
Knoxville before becoming the Foreign Language
Supervisor for Knox County. She has been; First Lady
of Knoxville; President of Ossoli Circle of Federated
Women and received the Covenant Platinum Award in
2004. On Boards of Nine Counties – One Vision Board
in 2009 and currently Keep Knoxville Beautiful.
June Scobee Rodgers, wife of Francis “Dick” Scobee,
commander of Challenger 7. After his death in the tragic
explosion of Challenger, Mrs. Rodgers, since remarried,
became founding chairwoman of Challenger Center for
Space Education, with 48 space educations centers for
school children worldwide. She is author of several
books and has appeared on numerous national television
programs
promoting
innovative
educational
partnerships. She has served on the President’s National
Eagle Advisory Council on Education and has been
honored with countless awards including National Eagle
Award, Women’s International Center’s Living Legacy
Award, Spirit of Volunteerism and National Award for
Excellence in Leadership.
Mary Ellen Boren enlisted in the WAAC’s, receiving
basic training beginning November 22, 1944, at Ft. Des
Moines, Iowa. She was assigned as a clerk-typist. She
transferred to Hamilton Field, California, as Distributor
of Publication, before being assigned as Link Trainer
Operator – pilot training of cockpit instruments.
Discharged July 24, 1946 at Camp Beale, CA, she
worked as Tower Operator at a small Denver airport.
Moving to Kansas City, she worked five years as Airline
Stewardess. Here she met her husband, James Boren, a
western artist, who would later be named to the National
Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Clara Dee Bronstad is a charter member of the Clifton
VFW Ladies Auxiliary, organized October 1953. Her
husband, Clifford served in the U.S. Army during WW
II. Clara Dee was auxiliary President for many years,
and she also served in other officer capacities. Clara
Dee volunteered often at three nursing homes, and once
a month at the VA Hospital. Clifton residents remember
the delicious Friday night hamburgers at the VFW, often
prepared by Clara Dee and her team. Clara Dee
Bronstad loves America and she loves our veterans. She
is often seen wearing her sparkly red, white and blue
cap.
TX
Capt. John
McAdams
Madisonville
TX
Major James Kerr
Kerrville
Sunny Clouser
12/31/1974
3/2/2015
3/19/2015
Anne Atwood Ellis
TX
Susanna
Dickinson
Sayers
10/5/1939
3/5/2015
Shirley obtained 17 Texas Historical Markers for
various significant homes and cemeteries. She authored
historical reference books and cataloged many
cemeteries in Wilson County. She keeps records on
many cemeteries and posts tombstone photos. She has
worked on the following
cemeteries:
Sutherland
Springs, Polley Family, Immanuel Lutheran, and Rector
Chapel. She photographed all historical markers in
Wilson County for its Sesquicentennial. She began her
research with the Applewhite Homestead in LaVernia.
In 2014, she obtained a $125,000 grant from the Davy
Crockett Forest Service for repairs to a road by the
historic Hill Cemetery in Hilltown, TX.
7/9/1943
3/15/2015
A 1965 graduate of Concordia University, River Forest,
Illinois, Rose Ann became a teacher of young children
for 37 years. She met Travis Richard “Dick” Crockett in
1961 at Concordia Junior College, Austin, TX.
Following 1964 graduation from Concordia Senior
College, Ft. Wayne, IN, Dick entered OCS at Ft.
Benning, GA. Rose and Dick married in April 1966.
This young couple gave the ultimate sacrifice when
Dick was killed in action in Vietnam on December 23,
1968. They had no children. In March 1973 Rose Ann
married James Grissett,
Shirley Grammer
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridan
Rose Ann Wiemken Crockett
Grissett
She was a wife, mother, teacher, church member,
neighbor and friend. She was a musician and member
and organizer of the Arts Council in our city. She was
an active member of the Madisonville Mushroom
Festival.
Through her own personal struggles with alcoholism,
Anne Atwood Ellis found a passion for those whose
lives are controlled by substance abuse. After recovery,
education and training, she set up a counseling service in
our nation’s capital, at one time running a United way
“half –way house” for recovering alcoholics. In
association with the council of governments and the
People to People Program, she travelled as an
ambassador to Russia, Japan, Korea, China, Sri Lanka,
and others to assist those governments in setting up
programs to help their citizens with substance abuse.
Anne’s wise and compassionate spirit has won friends
and touched lives here in our country and around the
world.
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
TX
Thankful
Hubbard
Austin
11/21/1922
11/11/2014
Dorothy Brock Hansen
Laura Jean Sanders Ralph Lewis
6/1/1941
3/15/2015
Marion Knight
3/2/1925
1/18/2015
1936
Emma Lou Linn is a psychology professor at St.
Edwards University in Austin, Texas where her research
has focused on abnormal psychology and forensics. She
graduated from the University of Texas in 1959 where
she played basketball, tennis and ran track. She was the
second female to serve on the Austin City Council.
While a council member, she championed human rights
and financial disclosure issues and wrote the first
historic ordinance. She served on Austin’s Historic
Landmark Commission and chaired the Travis County
Historical Commission. She played a key role in the
formation of the 6th Street Historical District.
Emma Lou Linn
TX
Major Jarrell
Beasley
Crockett
4/15/2015
Polly Morris
Graduating at age 16 from Floydada High School, three
years later Dorothy graduated from St. Mary’s School of
Nursing in Galveston, where she then worked prior to
enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1943. Dottie met Chris
Hansen at the Naval Hospital in Farrugut, Idaho. She
was one of his nurses while he recuperated after being
wounded at the invasion at Guadalcanal. Dottie married
Chris Hansen July 27, 1946.
Jean Sanders married Thomas Henry Ralph, Jr., May 26,
1962, the same day he was commissioned 1st Lieutenant
in the Marines. After two years active duty, Tom was in
the reserves until returning to active duty on November,
1967. Volunteering for Vietnam, he deployed January
15, 1968. Tom was KIA May 17, 1968. Jean, with
babies 3 ½ and 16 ½ months, relocated to Temple to
continue her college education. Jean married Walt
Lewis. Jean is actively involved with the Tin Building
Theater.
Marion is the daughter of Dr. Bertram Knight and Jessie
Baird Knight. Marion taught drafting at the University
level. She has many talents and interests including
intricate award winning needlework and woodworking.
Some of her needlework includes depiction of buildings.
She built a wooden stand that she donated to our DAR
chapter. Marion has generously donated to the
University of Mary Hardin Baylor Science Department
in honor of Bosque River Valley Chapter.
Polly Morris has a heart for history. She has worked
tirelessly for the Historical Railroad Depot Museum in
Crockett, Texas. The Depot was built in 1909, and was
abandoned after the railroad bypassed the downtown
area. Funding for the Museum is almost nonexistent
from the county, so Polly is active in raising funds to run
the Depot. She has done every job there is to do at the
Depot: clerking, cataloging, arranging, answering the
phone, even sweeping and cleaning.
TX
Daniel Coleman
Georgetown
10/13/1956
Fall 2014
Mickie Ross, Executive Director of the Williamson
Museum, began her tenure in July 2010. In her role as
Educator, she conducted field trips and traveling trunk
programs for students all across the country, served as
coordinator for special events such as Pioneer Day and
up the Chisholm Trail, and taught summer history camp
for third through sixth graders at the museum. Her new
role includes raising funds to support the Museum’s
many educational programs while increasing visibility
and partnerships throughout the county. She has written
and published Texas history teaching guides, served as a
consultant for Texas history publications, and has
presented workshops at state and national social studies
conferences.
Dr. Jenny Lind Porter is an author and former professor
of English and creative writing to some 12,000 Texas
students. She is the niece of William Sidney Porter
whose pen name was O. Henry. She was a noted scholar
of O. Henry and was appointed Poet Laureate of Texas
in 1964. She received her undergraduate and Master’s
degree from Texas Christian University and her
Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. She
was named one of the Outstanding Educators of
America and selected for the International Who’s Who
of Poetry.
5/2/2015
Mayor Mary Lib Saleh was elected the first female
mayor of Euless in 1993, retiring in 2014 after 21 years
of service. As a proponent of public art, historical
preservation, and education, she was instrumental in
bringing talented people together to document the
history of Euless through photographs, written histories
and historical markers. Mayor Saleh formed the Euless
Library Foundation to provide educational programs and
to enhance the artistic image of the library, including a
glass art piece, “Blooms of Enlightenment”. Mayor
Saleh formed the Women in Government organization
for Tarrant County elected women.
Mickie Ross
TX
Thankful
Hubbard
Austin
9/3/1927
Jenny Lind Porter-Scott
TX
Capt. Nathaniel
Mills
Hurst
5/4/1931
Mary Lib Saleh
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
1/15/1923
2/15/2015
One of eight children born to Alvin Hill Prince, Sr. and
Myrtle Charity Jacob Prince, Eva Lee is a proud
descendent from lineage that includes two Texas
Rangers. Completing nursing training by age 20, she
was recruited by Dr. Goodall to be his nurse at GoodallWitcher Hospital and Clinic in Clifton, Texas. Eva Lee
would use her nursing training in various health care
settings. At age 22, she met Herbert Schultz, who, in
poor health due to war injuries, had been told he had 6
months to live. Eva Lee and Herbert were sweethearts
all their 68 years of marriage.
6/27/1921
11/11/2014
12/13/1947
5/16/2015 or
9/26/2015
After attending Clifton College, Clara Fern Johnson
(Wiggins) received training with the Army Nurse Corps,
a short program established in 1942. Fern received
training at Providence Hospital in Waco, TX. A young
man named Tommy Wiggins came from West Texas to
attend Clifton College and there he met Fern. Tommy
enlisted in the U.S. Navy, which would be his career,
serving as a dive bomber during WW II and later as a
dive bomber and fighter pilot instructor in Miami. They
married in Miami, FL in 1944. Fern worked for 37
years as Dr. Holder’s nurse at Clifton Medical Clinic.
Philanthropist Karen Jackman Ashton
is
our
Outstanding American
History
Woman.
Karen
Ashton’s WordPerfect fortune financially supports
hospitals, universities, libraries, museums and charities
benefitting thousands. In gratitude, she created and
directs the nonprofit “Thanksgiving Point,” a 700 acre
Family Education and Enrichment Park. Karen also
originated and oversees the famous “Timpanogos
Storytelling Festival” which annually draws 35,000
participants worldwide.
Born at Becket, Massachusetts. She moved with her
family to Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and, finally, across the
plains to Utah. She led the Relief Society (women) and
Retrenchment Society (young women) and Primary
(Children) in the Utah Territory, travelling and speaking
extensively. Officially named general president of the
Relief Society in 1880 at the age of 86. She served until
her death. She is mostly known and remembered as
“Zion’s Poetress,” publishing over 500 poems. Her
obituary commented, “There was a marked harmony
between the qualities of the heart and the gifts of the
intellect of this remarkable woman.”
Eva Lee Prince Schultz
TX
Bosque River
Valley
Meridian
UT
Wasatch Range
Provo
Clara Fern Johnson Wiggins
Karen Ashton
UT
Salt Lake City
Murray
1/21/1804
Eliza Roxcy Snow
12/5/1887
3/21/2015
VA
Hicksford
Emporia
VA
Hicksford
Emporia
1895
1973
2/18/2015
1/29/1886
12/14/1962
2/18/2015
9/13/1892
10/4/1984
2/18/2015
10/9/1912
10/15/2011
10/9/2014
Lillian S. Abernathy
Edith Myra Gage
VA
Hicksford
Emporia
VA
Mine Run
Rhoadesville
Daisy Walshe Low
Harriet Morris
Lillian S, Abernathy served as cook for the JacksonFelid Home for over 40 years. In addition to cooking,
she gardened, canned, made butter, and supervised the
girls in cooking. The girls rotated chores each month
and when in the kitchen, benefitted from lessons taught
by the jovial lady with a quick smile and sharp tongue.
Affectionately known as Miss Abby, she helped with
church suppers that funded the building of a new Parish
House for Grace Episcopal Church. Her unassuming
nature and genuine love for the girls endeared her to all
who knew her. She retired in the early 1960s.
In 1921, Edith M. Gage became the first housemother of
the newly established Episcopal Home for Girls near
Jarratt, Virginia. In 1925, the Jackson Orphan Asylum
in Norfolk merged to form the Jackson-Felid Episcopal
Home and moved into larger quarters at Walnut Grove,
the ancestral home of George and Laura Field. Miss
Gage served as housemother there until 1933, when she
became Superintendent when the founder, Rev. Norman
F. Marshall, retired. She retired in 1959. During those
38 years, more than 150 girls came under her devoted
care and guidance as she provided for their physical,
emotional and spiritual needs.
Daisy W. Low arrived with her own little daughter in
1935 and began her duties at Jackson-Felid Episcopal
Home as Housemother. She oversaw the housekeeping
and laundry, and served as nurse during times of illness.
An active member of Grace Episcopal Church, she
served as Sunday School and Bible School teacher. At
Christmas, she made costumes for the pageant and made
children look angelic in tinsel halos. From devotion
before breakfast until mandatory study hall after supper,
she lovingly provided for the physical, emotional and
spiritual needs of the girls living at the home.
Harriett Elrene Bruegge Jager Morris had yearned to
become a member of the Daughters of the American
Revolution since she was a young girl, but was unable to
do so as she hailed from a family of German and Irish
immigrants. She embraced a lifelong fascination of
Colonial and Revolutionary history. Harriet was in her
glory when, at the age of 80, she was able to visit Mount
Vernon and sit upon the Washington’s porch
overlooking the Potomac. She left behind a rich
collection of anecdotes from her life written in the
manner she spoke—no nonsense, funny, sometimes
harsh, always loving.
VA
Mine Run and
Williamsburg
WA
Robert Gray
7/29/2001
Rhoadesville
and
Williamsburg
11/18/2013
A woman if great strength and spirit, although a young
girl, Jordan DuPriest is honored jointly by Mine Run
and Williamsburg Chapters for her bravery in the face of
her battle against brain cancer. She had named her
tumor Cornwallis, vowing to beat it like the Americans
“whipped the British general at the Battle of Yorktown.”
It was not to be. In November 2013, we mourned her
loss at the age of 12. Her fight against her Cornwallis
continues. Jordan asked that her tumors be donated to
science to help discover a cure for childhood cancer.
Jordan DuPriest
Hoquiam
7/24/1934
3/5/2015
JoAnn Balmer
WA
Narcissa Prentiss
Walla Walla
6/12/1866
Frances Sevilla Cleveland Axteell
WA
Elizabeth Forey
Tacoma
6.28/1940
Jacqueline Burdette
5/27/1953
3/21/2015
Born and educated in Tacoma, WA. Received a
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, MDd in
Special Education and PhD studies. Best known for her
sheltered workshop in the Tacoma School District for
disabled 13-21 year old students, to train and place in
sheltered and non-sheltered employment.
Started
Special Olympics in Tacoma, as well as the Division on
Career Development and Transition in WA State.
Serving as President, Newsletter Editor, Secretary and
Historian. Has been active in Ocean Shores Chamber of
Commerce and Lions Clubs in leadership positions.
Currently serving the North Beach Senior Resource
Center.
Frances Sevilla Axteell, born June 12, 1866, in Sterling,
Illinois and died May 27, 1953 in Seattle, Washington.
She earned a Ph.D. at Depauw University before moving
to Bellingham, Washington in the 1890. One of the first
women to serve Washington State House of
Representatives in 1912, she was elected to the 54th
District. She advocated for a minimum wage, worker’s
compensation and pensions for the elderly, disabled and
widows and to ban child labor. President Woodrow
Wilson appointed her on January 5, 1917 to the Federal
Employees Compensation Commission. She chaired it
during her four-year term.
The 30-year career of Jacqueline Burdette in the Federal
Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller was
capped by being inducted into the Women in Aviation
International Pioneer Hall of Fame on March 4, 1998,
joining the ranks of Amelia Earhart, one of the world’s
foremost aviators. Her career in aviation included a
three- year enlistment in the Navy, 1958-1960 and 27
years, 1968-1995 with the Federal Aviation
Administration. She broke many gender barriers to
reach top levels of administration, eventually being
named division manager of Western/Pacific region for
Air Traffic Services leading 3,400 employees. Jacque
Burdette is an exceptional woman, a pioneer, who has
paved the way for other women.
WA
David Douglas
Redmond
10/1943
3/7/2015
5/14/1942
3/5/2015
Ann Frank Farrington
WA
Robert Gray
Hoquiam
Patricia Gordon
WV
William
Henshaw
Martinsburg
1/23/1863
Valley Virginia Henshaw Berry
6/4/1927
6/7/2014
Ann Frank Farrington is a distinguished creative
designer who is a lead in preserving history in museum
displays. She was the Permanent Exhibition Project
Manager for the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum and Project Manager for the Permanent
Exhibitions in the Newseum, both in Washington DC
and Director of Exhibitions at Experience Music Project
and Creative Director during the formation of the core
exhibit at the Museum of History & Industry, both in
Seattle. Most recently, Ann was a consultant for the
9/11 Museum in New York City. Ann Farrington shares
her creativity in telling stories of our recent history,
In 1960 as a single mother, deaf in one ear, Patricia
completed Vocational Rehab and Beauty School,
becoming a hairdresser. Where for over 26 years she
has been providing makeovers and wigs for cancer
patients. Giving back by making recovering patients
look and feel better. Patricia also styles hair in the
homes of women who are unable to get out. She
volunteers at Hoquiams Robert Gray School Pizza
Buddy/Lunch Buddy program. Once a week, Patricia
provides pizza and soda to those students who are
having problems making friends, thus encouraging new
friendships and self-esteem to future adults.
A bronze tablet in Mount Zion Episcopal Church
cemetery records the pioneer contributions of Valley
Virginia Henshaw (Berry) to the early development of
NSDAR. She organized the first West Virginia chapter
in Berkley County on April 5, 1899, naming it after her
great grandfather, William Henshaw. This formation
gave birth, on the same day, to WVDAR. As state
regent 1901-1904, Valley Virginia helped organize the
next four West Virginia chapters. She was also
prominent among the state’s early educators. Born in
Mill Creek, Virginia, she was the daughter of Levi
Henshaw and Sarah Snodgrass.
WV
Anne Royal
Harrisville
WV
Anne Royal
Harrisville
WI
Samuel Phoenix
WI
Stevens Point
5/1/1864
11/24/1948
5/19/2015
Today, the phrase “Happy Mother’s Day” is often heard
in the month of May. This would not have happened
had it not been for the efforts of Anna Jarvis of WV. In
1907, she began a campaign to establish a National
Mother’s Day in the U.S. She, along with supporters,
wrote hundreds of letters to those in positions of power.
She was a fluent speaker, and used every opportunity to
promote her cause. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
made the official announcement proclaiming Mother’s
Day as a National holiday that was to be held the second
Sunday of May.
3/17/1869
9/18/1947
2/17/2015
Miss Lowther was a historian and author. An early
career as a teacher was cut short by a horse-riding
accident, after which she was confined to a wheel chair.
During this time she began to write historical and social
columns for local papers. She was an editor and
contributor for several WV newspapers, and was the
author of several historical books. In 1911 she wrote
the History of Richie County. This book became the
Bible for many beginning genealogists. Copies of her
works are available in libraries all across the state and at
the WV University library.
Anna Jarvis
Delavan
Minnie Kendall Lowther
Patricia Spicer Blackmer
Stevens Point
Dorothy Roshak Zmuda
1923
5/2015
Founder, past president, current registrar Mary Chesbro
Lee Tent #23, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil
War, 1861-1865, and National Counsel #2 and bylaws
Committee Chair. Vice Regent, Samuel Phoenix
Chapter DAR. Director/Vice President of both
Walworth County Historical and Genealogical Societies.
Member: Wisconsin, Ohio, New York historical,
genealogical, lineage societies. Additional involvement:
Civil War Monument, Whitewater Landmarks
Commissioner, Member of Geneva Lake Museum of
History, Whitewater Arts Alliance. Teacher of the Year
(twice), DPI curriculum writing, Wisconsin Special
Olympic Outstanding Agency Manager and Volunteer
Dorothy was one of ten children born to her Polish
German immigrant parents that settled into life on
Stevens Point’s north side. She grew up like most
during the depression era. Money was scarce, but
family, community, faith and love were abundant.
Dorothy’s vivid recollection of her childhood
adventures, young adult wartime years and raising her
own family, make for great stories. She shares her
history in two volumes of Slough of Memories. Each
short story takes the reader to a generation that
sacrificed so much for our great country.