Quoted from: http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pagenkopf-paige.html
Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Sunday, June 9, 2002
Author: JOAN HARVEY - The Oregonian Family photo - courtesy family of
Beatrice Mary Paget
Summary: The longtime Portland resident is recalled as a legal pacesetter, avid equestrian and dedicated aide to others.
When Beatrice Mary Paget died in Portland on June 1 at age 105, she held many longevity records: She was the oldest alumna of St. Helens Hall; the oldest alumna of Northwestern School of Law; the oldest member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Parish; and probably the oldest alumna of Oregon State University. She graduated from there in 1920, when it was still Oregon Agricultural College.
But her life was about more than just endurance -- it was 105 years filled with activity and a dedication to helping others. "She called the shots until the day she died," says her daughter, B. Mary Inkster, of Lake Oswego.
Her pastor, the Rev. Larry Falkowski, recalls her as a "strong woman, very bright. She always had a bright, bubbly kind of expression on her face" He says that he knows she regularly read the church newsletter, because she would buttonhole him with questions about it and the affairs of the church.
An avid equestrian, Paget only gave up riding on her 90th birthday because her horse, Snowball, got too old.
Paget was an attorney when it was rare for women to even think of going to law school. Her parents not only instilled in her a dedication for learning, but also went to great lengths to make education possible for her. They were farmers in Wells, then a small community near Corvallis, when she was born Beatrice Mary Thurston on Oct. 11, 1896.
There was no high school in Wells, so her parents sent her to St. Helens Hall, a boarding school in Portland that is now Oregon Episcopal School. When it came time for college, the family moved to Eugene so she could attend the University of Oregon.
After two years, she left school to tour the country as an "advance man" for Chautauqua bookings for Ellison-White. Chautauqua was an organization of more than 400 groups that traveled the country giving lectures, concerts, plays and other events to small towns hungry for culture.
While with Chautauqua, she met Lowell Paget . Her mother said she could get married on one condition -- that she return to college and graduate. So the newlyweds enrolled in Oregon Agricultural College.
After graduation in 1920, Lowell Paget 's parents sent them to Northwestern School of Law, now Lewis & Clark Law School. Beatrice Paget was one of only three women in her class.
After law school, the couple practiced together until the birth of the first of their five children, and Paget reduced her schedule to part time to dedicate herself to raising her family.
Her law work consisted mostly of contracts, wills and estates. She quit practicing criminal law entirely because she couldn't stomach defending clients she knew were guilty, her daughter said.
Both Pagets were active in Oregon politics. Lowell Paget was elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1932 and was National Republican Party committeeman for Oregon from 1960 until his death in 1967.
As president of the League of Women Voters in 1935, she successfully lobbied for passage of the Aid to Dependent Children bill.
Paget was a founding member of Queen's Bench, an organization of women lawyers, and served as its vice president and secretary-treasurer.
After practicing law for 43 years, she resigned from the Oregon State Bar in 1962 but remained active in Lewis & Clark's alumni association and was as a gardener and camper. Although a stroke led her to use a wheelchair the last five years of her life, her mind remained sharp and alert, friends and family say.
She read The Oregonian every day and refused to sign any paper without reading it carefully first -- often without glasses, her daughter says. She lived in the Northwest Portland home she and her husband built in 1927 until the day of her death.
Survivors include her daughters, B. Mary Inkster and Eileen Crim; sons, Lowell C. Jr. and Dr. Edward T.; 15 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Her daughter Patricia died in 1979.
Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday, in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The family suggests remembrances to the Trust for Public Land.
Arrangements are by Finley's.
Quoted from: http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/pagenkopf-paige.html
Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Sunday, June 9, 2002
Author: JOAN HARVEY - The Oregonian Family photo - courtesy family of
Beatrice Mary Paget
Summary: The longtime Portland resident is recalled as a legal pacesetter, avid equestrian and dedicated aide to others.
When Beatrice Mary Paget died in Portland on June 1 at age 105, she held many longevity records: She was the oldest alumna of St. Helens Hall; the oldest alumna of Northwestern School of Law; the oldest member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Parish; and probably the oldest alumna of Oregon State University. She graduated from there in 1920, when it was still Oregon Agricultural College.
But her life was about more than just endurance -- it was 105 years filled with activity and a dedication to helping others. "She called the shots until the day she died," says her daughter, B. Mary Inkster, of Lake Oswego.
Her pastor, the Rev. Larry Falkowski, recalls her as a "strong woman, very bright. She always had a bright, bubbly kind of expression on her face" He says that he knows she regularly read the church newsletter, because she would buttonhole him with questions about it and the affairs of the church.
An avid equestrian, Paget only gave up riding on her 90th birthday because her horse, Snowball, got too old.
Paget was an attorney when it was rare for women to even think of going to law school. Her parents not only instilled in her a dedication for learning, but also went to great lengths to make education possible for her. They were farmers in Wells, then a small community near Corvallis, when she was born Beatrice Mary Thurston on Oct. 11, 1896.
There was no high school in Wells, so her parents sent her to St. Helens Hall, a boarding school in Portland that is now Oregon Episcopal School. When it came time for college, the family moved to Eugene so she could attend the University of Oregon.
After two years, she left school to tour the country as an "advance man" for Chautauqua bookings for Ellison-White. Chautauqua was an organization of more than 400 groups that traveled the country giving lectures, concerts, plays and other events to small towns hungry for culture.
While with Chautauqua, she met Lowell Paget . Her mother said she could get married on one condition -- that she return to college and graduate. So the newlyweds enrolled in Oregon Agricultural College.
After graduation in 1920, Lowell Paget 's parents sent them to Northwestern School of Law, now Lewis & Clark Law School. Beatrice Paget was one of only three women in her class.
After law school, the couple practiced together until the birth of the first of their five children, and Paget reduced her schedule to part time to dedicate herself to raising her family.
Her law work consisted mostly of contracts, wills and estates. She quit practicing criminal law entirely because she couldn't stomach defending clients she knew were guilty, her daughter said.
Both Pagets were active in Oregon politics. Lowell Paget was elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1932 and was National Republican Party committeeman for Oregon from 1960 until his death in 1967.
As president of the League of Women Voters in 1935, she successfully lobbied for passage of the Aid to Dependent Children bill.
Paget was a founding member of Queen's Bench, an organization of women lawyers, and served as its vice president and secretary-treasurer.
After practicing law for 43 years, she resigned from the Oregon State Bar in 1962 but remained active in Lewis & Clark's alumni association and was as a gardener and camper. Although a stroke led her to use a wheelchair the last five years of her life, her mind remained sharp and alert, friends and family say.
She read The Oregonian every day and refused to sign any paper without reading it carefully first -- often without glasses, her daughter says. She lived in the Northwest Portland home she and her husband built in 1927 until the day of her death.
Survivors include her daughters, B. Mary Inkster and Eileen Crim; sons, Lowell C. Jr. and Dr. Edward T.; 15 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Her daughter Patricia died in 1979.
Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday, in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The family suggests remembrances to the Trust for Public Land.
Arrangements are by Finley's.
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