Mary Dresser Burchill's Books

The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Miller Watkins

A Pioneering Philanthropist

By: Mary Dresser Burchill,Norma Decker Hoagland

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The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Miller Watkins

A Pioneering Philanthropist

By: Mary Dresser Burchill,Norma Decker Hoagland

Few women have had a more significant impact on the development and growth of Lawrence, Kansas, and the University of Kansas than Elizabeth Miller Watkins. Elizabeth Josephine Miller was born in Ohio in 1861 and moved with her family to Lawrence when she was a child. She attended the University of Kansas’s preparatory school in the 1870s but could not complete her education when a family financial crisis forced her to seek employment. She started working at the J. B. Watkins Land and Mortgage Company in 1887 as a secretary and in 1909 she married the company’s founder and owner, Jabez Watkins. Together the Watkinses dedicated themselves to philanthropy and were committed to giving all their wealth, as Elizabeth said, “for the good of humanity, chiefly here in Lawrence.” Jabez died in 1921, leaving Elizabeth to manage the family fortune alone. Elizabeth wished to give women the opportunity for higher education that she herself had never received. In 1925, the Kansas Board of Regents approved her request to have a women’s scholarship hall built at KU. Watkins Hall, named in memory of her late husband, was constructed close to Elizabeth’s home—now the chancellor’s residence—and was followed a decade later by the construction of Miller Hall in 1936. As two of the twelve scholarship halls at the University of Kansas today, Watkins and Miller Halls are home to a vibrant cohort of young female scholars and an active alumnae community who continue the philanthropic vision of Elizabeth Miller Watkins. In 1929, Elizabeth donated $200,000 for the new Lawrence Memorial Hospital to be built at 3rd and Maine, where it remains today. She also established the first on-campus healthcare provider, Watkins Memorial Hospital, at the University of Kansas (now Twente Hall) in 1931. In this engaging biography, Mary Dresser Burchill and Norma Decker Hoagland’s extensive research successfully paints a portrait of a remarkable woman whose generosity endures at KU and in Lawrence and brings to light the astonishing legacy of one of the city’s leading philanthropists.

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Page Count

240

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700634231

ISBN 13

9780700634231

Mary’S Prayer

By: Mary McGuinness

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Mary’S Prayer

By: Mary McGuinness

This memoir of Marys spiritual journey of self-discovery to find inner peace spans a period of fourteen years in which she was unable to find work due to illness. Throughout this period, she began to search for answers herself, which resulted in studying for a degree in psychology. The music of John Lennon and The Beatles has always been important to Mary, and it was through this music that the healing process began. John Lennons character had inspired her throughout her life, particularly in his work for peace with his wife, Yoko Ono. Music in general was very important to the journey that Mary travelled. Marys faith was paramount to the healing process, and she visited the Shrine of Lourdes in France, which was a turning point in her life. In the Church of Frauenkirche in Munich, Mary also felt as though she had received a blessing. The support of Marys family was very important to her recovery. The psychology studies, in particular those of social psychology, impacted on Marys understanding of the illness and motivated her to engage in her own personal research. This has ultimately influenced this book. Similar to John Lennons song, In My Life, the people that Mary met and the places that she visited along the journey were essential to initiate changes in her life. Social Construction Theory and the New Thought Movement were pivotal in changing Marys attitudes and promoted a new way of thinking, which impacted on her recovery. Finally, visiting Liverpool, England, re-energized Mary, and it was critical in changing her life. It is hoped that this story would inspire others who are hoping to make similar changes in their own lives.

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