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Alice Catherine Reckard Corbett ’44

Alice Catherine Reckard Corbett ’44, May 4, 2010, in Portland. Alice attended Reed for two years and then earned a BS in education from the University of Oregon in 1947. She taught at Woodlawn School, and while taking classes at the Art Museum School, she met engraver James J. Corbett; they married in 1948. Alice and her mother operated a hardware store, which they sold in 1960. In 1958, she entered politics as a staunch Democrat. She was elected to the Oregon State Senate (1958–66) and the Multnomah County Commission (1975–78) and was a national Democratic committeewoman for 16 years. Her time at Reed forged a lifelong connection to the college, which she expressed in volunteer hours and financial support. “Although I completed my bachelor's in education at the University of Oregon, I never forgot Reed,” she said. “While there I would sometimes study with sorority friends from other colleges. They started asking me questions, and I guess the answers were good because next time they crowded around and asked more and more—in subjects I wasn't even taking! I soon saw that I was learning so much more than my friends at other schools.” Alice's husband died in 2001.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2010

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