View XML QR Code

Jean Norwood papers, 1951-1970

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Norwood, Jean, 1919-2015
Title
Jean Norwood papers
Dates
1951-1970 (inclusive)
Quantity
approximately 16.42 cubic feet
Collection Number
0768, 1995
Summary
Correspondence and materials related to civic activities of a city official and civic leader in Vancouver, Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access restricted: For terms of access contact repository.

Some records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Return to Top

Biographical Note

City official, civic leader, Vancouver, Washington.

Jean Eileen Norwood was born May 2, 1919 in Wenatchee, Washington to Stanley and Mabel Neander. Her father died from the Spanish flu when she was only three months old, and her mother raised her only child in Silverdale, Washington. They lived in a log cabin and Mabel taught in a one-room schoolhouse.

She was valedictorian of her class at Ballard High School and attended Washington State University before transferring to the University of Washington, from which she graduated with a degree in Mathematics in 1941. She met her husband, Gus Norwood, in the run up to WWII, and they were married from 1941 to his death in 2006. She served during WWII as a naval architect, using her mathematical abilities to design ships while Gus served with the Pacific fleet.

After the war, they moved to Vancouver, Washington, where Gus worked with the Northwest Public Power Association and Jean raised their five children, served on the PTA, the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, the Women's Club, and served several terms on the Vancouver City Council. In 1967, they moved to Juneau, Alaska, where Gus led the federal government's Alaska Power Administration and worked in government affairs and as a financial analyst. They then moved to Washington, DC where Jean worked as a docent at the Smithsonian Institution. When they moved back to Vancouver in 1974, Jean worked at the YWCA and became a Master Gardener involved with arboretum development in Vancouver. After Gus's death, Jean left her home to live first at the Courtyard Village, then at Touchmark Village until her death. She died on February 3, 2015 at the age of 95 due to complications from the flu.

Return to Top

Content Description

Correspondence and materials regarding the Vancouver City Council and other civic activities, clippings, ephemera.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 3 accessions.

  • Accession No. 0768-001, Jean Norwood papers, 1951-1967
  • Accession No. 1995-001, Jean Norwood papers.
  • Accession No. 1995-003, Jean Norwood papers, 1965-1970

Preservation Note

Some records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • City council members--Washington (State)--Vancouver--Archives
  • Civic leaders--Alaska--Juneau--Archives
  • Civic leaders--Washington (State)--Vancouver--Archives
  • Municipal government--Washington (State)--Vancouver--20th century--History--Sources
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Women--Washington (State)--Vancouver--Societies and clubs--History--Sources

Personal Names

  • Norwood, Jean, 1919-2015--Archives

Geographical Names

  • Vancouver (Wash.)--Politics and government--20th century--History--Sources


2014 (Last modified: 4/2/2020)

CC0

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...