The Badge of Faith Louise Dougan, 1942 

This beautiful antique badge popped up on an online site with a very reasonable “Buy It Now” price, and so I jumped on it, and I am so glad that I did! This badge is a treasure from a family with quite a Kappa legacy, and I am thrilled to be the custodian of this key. 

Faith Louise Dougan was born on July 12, 1923 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Faith pledged in 1941 and was initiated into the Chi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Minnesota on January 31, 1942. 

As always, I begin my quest to find the face behind the badge by starting at Ancestry. In looking up Faith Louise, I was able to be connected with members of her family who were generous enough to share photos and some personal information about this Kappa sister: 

“Faith Dougan was a unique individual. She was highly artistic. She would draw and make sculptures and candleworks. She supported herself with her art. She did the artwork/advertising drawings for Marshall Fields in Chicago, mostly pages of ladies wearing elegant dresses and gowns. She would also work street fairs drawing pictures of people and maybe selling the artwork she created. She married Roy Thumm in about 1963. They had no children. Faith died at the age of 84 in 2008.“

A Family Legacy! Mother… 

Faith’s mother, Faith Marie Wheaton Dougan, was also a Kappa Kappa Gamma. Oh, what I would give to be able to find her badge! Faith Marie Wheaton was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1886. She was initiated into the Chi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Minnesota on October 8, 1904. She married Henry K. Dougan on September 8, 1914. She passed away on May 18, 1975 at the age of 89. 

And Sister…

Faith’s sister, Margaret Dougan Wersebe Garfield, was also a Kappa Kappa Gamma! Margaret Dougan was born on December 25, 1917 and was initiated into the Chi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Minnesota in approximately 1935 or 1936. She does not appear in the list of pledges in 1935, but she is listed as an active Kappa in 1936 and was a senior in 1939. 

Also in 1939, Margaret married Edward Ireland Wersebe of Connecticut, whom she met while working summers at Glacier National Park. They moved to Seattle, where he was employed by Boeing, and they had a daughter, Judith. Edward died tragically on February 18, 1943 during a test flight of the B-29 aircraft. This disaster was known as the Frye Plant accident, which took the lives of the entire crew. Edward was only 28. Margaret married Herbert Edward Garfield in 1944, and they went on to have a son and lived happily until Herbert’s death in 1980. 

Margaret remained active in Kappa Kappa Gamma alumnae activities until her death. Margaret passed away on January 20, 2002 at the age of 84. (Information from a post on rootsweb.com)

I earnestly hope that I can someday run across and purchase the badges of both mother Faith Marie and sister Margaret so that all three badges can be reunited.

This post is also now visible in the “The Badges” section of the blog.