Past Presidents 1989-1962

Dr. (Margaret) Louise Garbe
1989-1991 (Col. Joe A.)

Dr. Garbe joined the Seattle branch in 1984 and was president from 1989-1991.

She received her BA in Social Work in 1946 from the University of Washington. She received her MEd in 1970 from Seattle Pacific University in Early Childhood Education and her PhD in 1981 from Walden University in Special Education.

She was a member of the Business and Professional Women, Delta Kappa Gamma, and was Vice Principal of High Point Elementary School.

Phyllis M. Lorenzen
1987-1989

Phyllis joined the Seattle branch in 1956 and was active through the 1990s. She was president from 1987-1989.

Graduate of Pacific Lutheran University in 1952 with a BS in Education and Social Studies. She taught at various elementary schools in the Seattle School District. She passed away on September 28th, 2009 in Seattle, WA at the age of 86.

Sumiko (Sue) Kuriyama
1983-1984 (Mrs. Takashi)

Gave a very interesting talk at one of our “Herstory” events about her early life in Japanese Internment Camps during World War II. We hoped she would write a book.

She joined the Seattle Branch in 1955 and was an active member through the 1990s. She was Seattle branch president from 1983-1984.

She received a BA in Education and Phycology in 1955, a MEd in Education and English in 1962, and second BA in English Literature in 1970 - all at the University of Washington.

Seattle resident for many years, Sumiko was a retired Seattle Public Schools teacher and librarian. She passed away on July 1, 2007, in Olympia, Wa.

Carol Fulmer
1981-1983

She attended the University of Washington, graduating with a BA in Home Economics in 1943. Carol enlisted in the US Navy May 1945 and became a Naval Reserve communication specialist.

She was born in Seattle and lived here most of her life. She passed away in 2008.

Marjory Louise Scholl Bracher (Mrs. Edwin W.)
1977-1979

Very active in the Seattle Branch during the 1970s and 1980s and into the 1990s, she was president of the branch from 1977-1979.

She was born in Indiana in 1906 and received her BA from Wittenberg University in Ohio in 1928 majoring in History and English. She married Edwin W. Bracher in 1931. She died in King County in 1995.

She joined the Buffalo, NY AAUW Branch in 1929, the La Grande, Oregon Branch in 1932 and transferred to the Seattle Branch from Toledo, Ohio in 1971.

She was a free-lance writer for 35 years. Among other things, she wrote research studies, by-laws, and drafted and designed organizational handbooks. She also lectured at workshops on leadership training.

Alice Marie Stroncek Ordway
1975-1977 (Mrs. John)

Alice joined the Seattle Branch in 1969 and remained active into the 2000s.

She received her BA in 1949 from the Washington State University in Sociology. She did additional studies at Cornell and the Universities of Maryland, Washington, and Mexico. She spoke Italian, Spanish, French, and Turkish.

After getting divorced she taught English in Turkey where she fell in love with her dream man and head of the foreign service in Turkey, John Ordway. Alice made a great diplomat’s wife and delighted in entertaining foreign dignitaries, hosting social events and exploring foreign countries.

Alice was an independent woman who lived a long and passionate life built from her own ideas, values and dreams. She was a strong advocate for women’s rights, the environment and was an avid gardener.

Judge Evangeline Starr

1971-1973

King County’s second female judge serving from 1941-1986. She passed the bar exam with the highest grade of all those that applied.

Long time women’s rights advocate.
In a 1970 interview, Starr said she believed what all women really were working toward was treatment as equal citizens, including equal pay, equal opportunity to hold a public office, and equal opportunity in government.  She passed away in 1990.

Mrs. Dorothy Gibbons Boysen (Mrs. Fred C.)

1969-1971

Active in the Seattle Branch from 1961 through the 1990s, she was president from 1969-1971. She was honored in 1986 by a named gift in the Educational Foundation.

She was a member of the 99s, a club for women pilots. She was a hunter and made safaris in Africa and South America.

She received her BA from the University of Washington in 1943 in Economics, Business and Accounting.

Mrs. Ruth E. Reed Schweizer (Mrs. Carl A.)

1965-1967

Ruth joined the Seattle Branch in 1949 and served as president from 1965-1967. She was a great hostess for the branch and was very active in many areas. She also served as Washington State Treasurer.

She received her BBA in Business at the University of Washington and served as a business teacher.

She was born in Michigan in 1906 and moved to Washington as a child. She died in King County, Washington in 1991.

Dorothy A. Siewers (Mrs. Richard J.)

1963-1965

Dorothy Siewers, among other things, was a strigiformologist or owl specialist. She spent over 12 years volunteering at the Seattle Owl Clinic and was also licensed to keep injured owls in her home.

A longtime member of AAUW Seattle, she was president from 1963-1965. She was born in December 1919 and died in 1990 at the age of 70.

She was a graduate of Thiel College in Pennsylvania and did graduate work at the University of Washington, the University of California and the Latin American Institute in New York.

She held a national post in Sigma Kappa Sorority and was a board member of the Women’s Division of the Seattle-King County Safety Council. She was a member of the Seattle-King County Council on Ageing, the Southeast Queen Anne Association, the Queen Anne Community Club and the Margaret Mary Cassidy Orthopedic Guild.