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Kathleen Frances Cahill Dougall ’37

Kathleen Frances Cahill Dougall ’37, March 23, 2005, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kathleen received a bachelor's degree in political science from Reed, and worked for a year after graduation as an executive secretary for an international relations organization in Portland. She then earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1939, and was a resident scholar at Columbia University (1940–41), completing all but her dissertation for a PhD in international relations and law, before accepting an internship with the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. In 1943, she married George M.R. Dougall; they had two children. For four years, she served as an economic analyst, before moving to the State Department, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, specializing in China. She was with the department for 25 years—interrupting her career only to care for her children. During her years with the State Department, she facilitated the release of downed U.S. pilots from Chinese prisons during the Vietnam War, and helped to open diplomatic relations with China during the Nixon Administration. She lived for 22 years in Portland in retirement before moving to Minneapolis in 2001. Dougall was an active volunteer in her community, including as a member of Reedis alumni association board. Survivors include her daughter and son, two grandchildren, and her sister, Ruth M. Cahill ’43. Her sister, Doris J. Cahill Litchford ’40, died a few weeks earlier, and George died in 2002.

Appeared in Reed magazine: August 2005