Archives West Finding Aid

Stella Louise Duncan, the daughter of Robert Andrew and Jemima Duncan was born in Glendive, Montana on September 29, 1887. Her father was a pioneer physician. The family later moved to Kalispell, Montana. She attended the University of Montana in Missoula from 1904 to her graduation with a B.A. in 1907. Duncan taught school in Glendive, Montana, for at least one year between 1907 and 1910. In 1912 she did graduate work in languages at Northwestern but moved back to Montana for graduate studies until 1914. Her social life included acting in plays, dances and dinners, and attending sports events. She was a member of the Dramatic Club and, in 1909, was a founding member of Theta Phi, a local sorority which later became a chapter of the national sorority Kappa Alpha Theta.

Duncan then studied at Prince School in Boston, a private training school for business women that was affiliated with Simmon College and Harvard University. She received a B.S. degree in 1921 and was then employed as a buyer for five years in two exclusive women's shops in Boston. From there, Duncan established her own fashion import business and travelled extensively to Europe, Asia, and Africa. She collected art objects and fine home furnishings, most of which she donated to The University of Montana.

Duncan married twice, first to a Mr. Malloy in around 1910 and in 1937 to H.H. Johnstone. She died in Pasadena, California on November 26, 1948.