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Mary Justine Woodworth ’31

Mary Justine Woodworth ’31, December 28, 1997, in Massachusetts. Mary described her education prior to Reed as "broken," due to her family moving many times in the U.S. and abroad. She began formal schooling at the age of 11 and achieved academic honor. Mary was at Reed for two years, when a family move to Boston required that she transfer. She earned an AB in French and Italian literature ("as there was no room in any other department") from Radcliffe College in 1932, and an AM in French from Boston University in 1934. She studied preschool education at Eliot Pearson School, then an affiliate of Boston University, from 1935 to 1942. Mary worked as a telephone operator before becoming director of a cooperative nursery school for seven years, augmenting income needs by teaching summer camp. For two years she worked at a co-op nursery school that she initiated in North Andover, Massachusetts; and secured a firm foundation teaching in public schools for 20 years. The North Pembroke parent and teacher organization developed the Mary Woodworth Scholarship for college-bound students who had attended the elementary school in which Mary taught.

Appeared in Reed magazine: August 2004

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