Marguerite Church
Week of November 6, 2000

Former six term Illinois congresswoman, Marguerite Stitt Church '14, is the Wellesley Person of the Week.

A native of New York City, she attended the St. Agatha School, where she played basketball, and participated in organized forum discussions. She enrolled at Wellesley College in 1910, and majored in psychology, sociology and economics. This Durant Scholar and recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa award was president of the Zeta Alpha Society, a member of the Intersociety Council and an active participant in the Debating Society. She graduated from Wellesley with highest honors in 1914, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree.


She spent the year following her graduation, teaching biblical history at Wellesley College. In the fall of 1915, Marguerite began her graduate studies in political science at Columbia University, and received an M.A. in 1917. She then worked as a psychologist with the State Charities Aid Association, an adoption agency in New York, during World War 1.

While visiting a friend in Chicago, she was introduced to her future husband, Ralph E. Church a Chicago attorney, and Illinois state representative. They married in December, 1918. Ralph Church was elected to the U.S. congress and served from 1935 to 1941, and then from 1943 until his death, in 1950. As a woman with a strong interest in political science, Marguerite considered herself to be fortunate, "in marrying a man actively engaged in legislative work." During his time in office, Marguerite Church worked closely with her husband on legislative matters, and accompanied him during campaigns. She became president of the Congressional Club, an organization for wives and daughters of legislators, cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices.

Ralph Church died in 1950, in the middle of a congressional hearing. Republican party leaders encouraged Marguerite to run to fill her late husband's seat. In her acceptance speech following her nomination, she said, "If a man had been nominated and made a mistake, you would have said he is stupid. If I make a mistake, you will say 'she is a woman'. I shall try to never give you reason to say that. I make no apologies for being a woman, nor would I ever seek office on the basis of being a woman."

She served ten years on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, travelling more than 40,000 miles some years. Referring to her extensive travel and international work she said, "I like to think that my district and my country are safer because I went." Her domestic legislative initiatives were wide ranging. She played an instrumental role in the passage of a bill modernizing and streamlining the federal government's budget process, and she authored legislation sharply curtailing the interstate transportation of fireworks.

Widely respected by colleagues and leaders on both sides of the aisle, she was appointed by President Kennedy to be a United Nations delegate, even though she had been a vocal critic of certain policies of his administration.

She remained interested and active in politics, following her retirement from Congress at the age of 70, having served for 12 years, and having voted on 6,292 bills and resolutions. Amazingly, she missed only 4 roll call votes during her tenure in Congress.

Marguerite Church was granted honorary degrees from Russell Sage College, Lake Forest College, Northwestern University, and National-Louis's College of Education. She was a member of the National Board of Directors of the Girls Scouts of America, a member of the American delegation to United Nations Assembly in 1961 and an honorary director of Northwestern University's Memorial Hospital.

Marguerite Stitt Church died on May 26, 1990 at her home in Evanston, IL. In her memory, her daughter, Marjory Church Barnum '50, and granddaughter, Courtenay R. Wood '76, established the Marguerite Stitt Church '14 Summer Internship in Washington Stipend.

Written by Mur Wolf