Archives West Finding Aid

Alice C'Ceal Phelps was born on August 8th,1907, in Cornelius, Oregon. Alice earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Idaho in 1929 and taught school in Robin, Idaho in 1929. She did graduate work at Washington State University in 1941. On November 28, 1929, she married Bruce Avery Coombs. After WWII, Alice helped her husband establish and run the first agricultural spray flying business in Yakima and was active in many civic affairs throughout her career. In 1954 she was awarded the Business and Professional Women's Woman of Achievement award. She was involved with the Washington State White House Conference on Education in 1955, chairman of the Western Regional Scholarship for the Ford Foundation from 1955-1959. She was chairman of the Yakima County School Board from 1957-1959, first female council member for the city of Yakima in 1959-1961 and Assistant Mayor in 1960. In addition, C'Ceal was involved with the Regional District Washington Cities Legislation in 1960, a Washington delegate to the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1960, the Washington Citizen's Council and National Council Crime and Delinquency from 1956-1990 and was awarded the outstanding Citizen Award for the Western Correctional association in 1974. She was also a Washington delegate to the UNESCO Conference in Kyoto, Japan in 1970.