"Katie Booth"(May 23,1907-April 2005)

From Gulport Mississippi,Katie developed an early passion for chemistry she had access to few resources to pursue her interest.In 1929,she was part of the first class of African American to graduate from the Gulfport School for Coloreds.Later that year
she moved to Arkadelphia,Arkansas,to work for the Presbyterian Board of Education.During that time she received a scholarship to study at Philander Smith College in Little Rock Arkansas,where Katie earned a basic education degree in 1940.At the beginning of World War II,Katie moved to Chicago to work in the was industry.She was married during World War II to Robert Booth.Eight years later he died from his war injuries.They had
no children.Katie was a chemist at Doeh-Jarvis,a die casting company,and also took classes at the Damen Institute of Technology,where she received a degree in industrial chemistry after the war.From there,Katie worked in the department of
Pharmacology at the Chicago Medical School,researching preventative health measures.She was interested in Children's health and prenatal care,
and also worked on treatments for sickle cell anemia.In the 1970s,Katie retired from chemistry,but remained an active civic leader on Chicago's West Side.Since the 1940s,she served as chairperson of the West side YWCA,and and help the position until after her professional retirement.Katie was also one of the first members of the Chicago Housing Board's West Side District,and served as chairperson of the board of Sears & Roebuck for the West Side area.In the 1960's Katie worked with Operation PUSH and cautioned civil rights leaders against fragmenting following Dr.Martin Luther King,death.During the 1980's Katie helped a voter registration drive that led
to the election of Harold Washington,Chicago's first African American mayor.In the 1990s,Katie returned home to Magnolia Grove,the subdivision of
Gulport where she had been an original resident.Staying active into her nineties,she worked to expand the Magnolia Grove Community Center and its children's programing.In recognition of her
work,the facility was renamed the Katie Patterson Community Center in May 2003.