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Norma Jeanne Goodman Smith ’42

Norma Jeanne Goodman Smith ’42, January 8, 2004, in Orlando, Florida, from complications following hip surgery. Encouraged to attend Reed by her uncle, Norman K. Harrington ’34, Jeanne once stated that it was the "right road taken." She studied at Reed for four years with a focus on political science, and in 1942 married Douglas B. Smith ’42. They had one child. Following educational and career goals, the couple lived in Boston, San Francisco, New York, and the beltway of Washington, D.C. Jeanne earned a BA in 1953 and an MA in 1958 in government and politics from the University of Maryland–College Park. She also attended Wagner College in New York (1957–58) to earn a substitute teaching certificate, and taught in the Montgomery County (Maryland) school district. For five years she worked in the Department of Public Welfare, and spent 16 years at the National Institute of Health, where she tracked child health legislation in the U.S. Congress until retirement in 1984. "I don’t believe volunteerism will save the world or advance equality; law is better," she wrote. Jeanne moved to Florida in 2001 to be near her family. Survivors include her daughter and grandchild. Douglas predeceased her in 1983.

Appeared in Reed magazine: May 2004

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