Dorothy Stratton

Yesterday I was reading the newspaper and came to the obituaries page. In the lowest left hand corner there was mention of a Dorothy Stratton, age 107 dying. Because of her age, I read it…and was blown away.

Let me just list the accomplishments on Ms. Stratton:

• Graduated from Ottawa University in 1920 and received her Master's degree from the University of Chicago.
  
• Received a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
  
• Taught at public high schools in Brookfield, Missouri, Renton, Washington and San Bernardino, California.
  
• Purdue University: dean of women and assistant professor of psychology.
  
• Served on the selection board for the Women's Army Corps V Corps area.
  
• Took a leave of absence from Purdue in 1942 and joined the WAVES, and was commissioned a lieutenant.
  
• In late 1942, she was ordered to Washington, DC to the office of the Commandant of the Coast Guard to organize the Coast Guard Women's Reserve, and was transferred from the Navy to the Coast Guard.
  
• She came up with the name SPARS using a contraction of the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus and its English translation Always Ready. She was appointed its first director with a rank of lieutenant commander. Stratton continued in the post until 1946 and rose to the rank of captain. As director, she oversaw over 10,000 enlisted women and 1,000 commissioned officers. She left the Coast Guard in 1946 when the SPARS were demobilized. For her service she was awarded the Legion of Merit.
  
• Served as director of personnel for the International Monetary Fund (1947 - 1950).
  
• In 1950, she became national executive director of the Girl Scouts of the USA, a post she held until 1960.

Talk about being a role model.

Rest in peace, Dorothy.

[This is not Dorothy Stratton, the playboy model murdered in the 1980s’s.]