San Diego Chapter of the College of St. Catherine Alumnae Association

Members of San Diego Chapter have tea in June 2006 at the Westgate Hotel with Southern California Scholarship Recipient Jennifer Farala (bottom center) and Executive Director of the Alumnae Association Ruth Brombach (striped jacket). Stay tuned about a special gathering this spring for more recent graduates! San Diego Alumna and Her "Moms' on Mission" Group Help Tsunami and Hurricane Victims Beth Eidsvold-Basilio '02 is profiled in the NEWS AND FEATURES on the Alumnae Association Web site because of her volunteer efforts. Working with the San Diego Moms and the Rancho San Diego Playgroup, Beth and the other moms raised $7,500 for tsunami victims and $8,000 for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Check out the full article at the NEWS AND FEATURES page.

Join Us at the Reflective Woman Mini-Course! When: Saturday, March 10 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Where: The University of San Diego’s Manchester Executive Conference Center Cost: $25 per person includes continental breakfast, the mini-course, and reading materials. Guests (a sister, mother, close friend) are welcome. Registration deadline: March 2, 2007 Those registering for The Reflective Woman mini-course will receive readings and a map of the campus in advance by mail. Don’t delay! Sign up today! Mail your check or credit card number to: The College of St. Catherine Alumnae Association Mail #F-33 2004 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Questions? Contact Chris Klejbuk ’71 at the Alumnae Association at 651-690-6063, or Keep the Conversation with Books Going in San Diego! Visit the Web site, read the books, and discuss them with alumnae and friends. You can use the comments of the panelists as the springboards for indepth discussions.

Semper Fi

San Diego Leader Nominated for Alumnae Award

Marie Proulx, a founding member and prominent leader of the San Diego Chapter of St. Catherine’s Alumnae Association, has been nominated for a St. Catherine’s Alumnae Award.

One of the First Woman Marines

For Oceanside resident Marie A. Proulx '39, the Marine motto, Semper Fidelis, has special meaning. As she puts it, “I never married, but I am married to the Marine Corps through the Women Marines Association.”

When she enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II (on June 18, 1943), women Marines were reservists and not allowed overseas, so Marie made good use of her business degree from St. Kate’s, working in the civilian payroll department at El Toro Marine Corps base.
After the war ended, she returned to civilian life. Then in 1948, when the federal government authorized women as regulars in the military, she returned to active duty and eventually rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant. Marie was one of the original 15 enlisted women and four officers to open a recruit training program for women Marines at Parris Island, South Carolina.

In 1952, she transferred to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California where she was later diagnosed with an arthritic hip. Although Marie volunteered for a then-newly developed hip replacement so she could remain a Marine, the replacement didn’t take and she was forced to retire from the Marine Corps.

Nevertheless she continued to work for the Marine Corps as a civilian -- first at Marine Corps headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and then back at Camp Pendleton, where in 1964 she became the accounting supervisor for Camp Pendleton’s Naval Hospital. She remained at Pendleton until her second retirement nearly thirty years ago, on June 30, 1977. (Never one to be idle, before she retired Marie obtained her realtor’s license, and later her broker’s license. Until 1985, she kept busy in the real estate business.)

An Active WMA Member

When the Women Marines Association was organized in Los Angeles in 1960, Marie became a charter member. Still active in WMA today, she served as treasurer of the national organization from 1972-1974 and as WMA’s area director for Western states from 1974-1976. Since 1984 she has been the treasurer of the Oceanside chapter, which she helped organize in 1972. In 2004, when the Oceanside chapter chaired the Women Marines Association’s national convention, eighty-seven-year-old Marie handled all the finances.

Fidelity to St. Catherine's

Marie’s fidelity is not confined to the Corps. She has amply demonstrated her faithfulness to St. Kate’s and to its goal of educating women. She organized the San Diego chapter of the alumnae association in the
early 1990s and has served as its president ever since. Each year she has prepared and mailed out a chapter newsletter and membership renewal at her own expense so the roughly $500 in dues collected could be contributed to the scholarship fund organized by our neighboring chapter in Orange County.

Lifelong Leadership and Service

Over the years, Marie has demonstrated the leadership qualities St. Kate’s strives to nurture in its students. In addition to the Women Marines Association, she has served as an officer for a number of professional and charitable organizations. Marie was president and later district secretary of the Business and Professional Women’s Club in Oceanside. She served for eight years on the board of the Idyllwild Institute Fiesta, which conducted a one-week leadership school for girls in the summer; for six years, she was the organization’s treasurer. In the 1980s, she was president and treasurer of the Girls Club of Oceanside. Marie’s work with the Idyllwild Institute and the Girls Club reflects her concern for the development of capable, confident and useful young women.

With her positive attitude, Marie has refused to let her macular degeneration slow her down — at least not very much. When she could no longer drive, she donated her car to the Brother Benno Foundation, an organization named after a local Benedictine monk who baked and bartered bread to feed the poor. As Marie describes it, the Prince of Peace Abbey to which Brother Benno belonged, is the “closest thing to heaven on earth.”

Story by by Kit Lang Ladwig, from the San Diego Katies newsletter.

If you would like to be put on the mailing list or have photos or stories of San Diego Alumnae to contribute to this page, please contact: Chris Klejbuk ’71 at the Alumnae Association at 651-690-6063, or