Irene Parsons Collection
Content Description
The collection includes a 2 August 2005 oral history transcript; a booklet titled "Alumni News: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro," Fall 1965; an article from the Topeka Paper titled "Luckily for 170,000 employes, she isn't typical boss-lady: North Carolina native holds highest personnel post ever held by woman," 5 September 1965; a booklet "Careers for Women...in the Veterans Administration," September 1973; a copy of Certificate for Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, 4 June 1967; a laminated invitation for honoring Parsons as the "Civil Servant of the Year Award," 26 August 1970; a copy of honoring achievements of 12 individuals from the White House, 25 April 1972; a copy of congratulatory letter from Lyndon B. Johnson, 5 May 1972; a copy of the George Washington University Magazine, Summer 1967; a portrait photograph and copy of Parsons in SPARs blue service dress uniform, circa 1945; a photograph copy of Parsons meeting with President Johnson, August 1965; a photograph copy of Parsons shaking hands with President Johnson, 5 August 1965.
Dates
- 1945
- 1965-1973
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.
Biographical / Historical
Irene Adelaide Parsons (1920-2011) of Wilkes County, North Carolina, spent three years with the Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard (SPARs) from 1943 until 1946. Afterwards, she had a long career with the Veteran's Administration, retiring after almost thirty years of service.
Irene Adelaide Parsons was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina and graduated from high school in nearby Taylorsville. She attended Brevard College for two years and then worked in Wilkes County until she had enough money to enroll at Woman's College in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1939. She graduated two years later with majors in business administration and education. She later received her master's degree from George Washington University. Parsons spent one year teaching high school in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
Then in summer 1942 she began working with the Civilian Service Commission as a recruiter in Washington, D.C. She was later sent down to serve as administrative assistant in the employment office at the Norfolk Navy Yard headquarters in Portsmouth, Virginia. Parsons joined the Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard (SPARs) in June 1943 and was selected to go to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, as part of the first class to train there. After eight weeks of training, she was sent to work in Washington, D.C., at the Coast Guards headquarters, working in personnel. She remained there until her discharge in August 1946.
She immediately went to work for the Veteran's Administration (VA) in recruiting. She worked her way up in the organization, and in 1960 she was appointed assistant administrator and director of personnel for the VA by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Parsons retired in 1975 after almost thirty years of service, then worked occasionally for several years as a management consultant. Parson is a recipient of the Federal Woman's Award, given to outstanding women in government; the Civil Service League Award, for exceptional service in government by men or women; a commendation for distinguished service from President Richard M. Nixon; a George Washington University Distinguished Alumnae Award; and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UNCG.
Extent
0.21 Linear Feet (3 folders )
Language of Materials
English
Metadata Rights Declarations
- License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.
Condition Description
The condition is fair.
Offensive Language Statement
The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.
Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.
Processing Information
Processed by Matthew McCarthy.
- United States. Coast Guard. Women's Reserve -- Uniforms
- Women and the military
- Women veterans
- World War, 1939-1945
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Female
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Women
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- United States
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- United States -- Photographs
- Title
- Irene Parsons Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Matthew McCarthy
- Date
- 2022 October
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository