| Honored by: | Patricia Feisel Cargill and Margaret Feisel Craig |
| Brick location: | F:5 map |
Dorothy Stadsvold Feisel Born April 27, 1935 ISU Class of 1957 In honor of our mother we are making this contribution to the Iowa State University Women's Archives. This brief biography is from her daughters' perspective and what it may lack in accuracy or completeness we hope it makes up for in evidence of our love and sincere appreciation of her accomplishments.
Dorothy Evelyn Stadsvold was born in Exira, Iowa in 1935. She grew up near there on a farm and after high school went to Iowa State to study Home Economics. While at Iowa State she fortuitously fell in love with and married our father Lyle Feisel. They are still married and we expect they always will be. While Dad was finishing graduate school they had us her two daughters and our brother Ken.
Upon graduation we all moved to Rapid City, South Dakota where we grew up and our parents lived for the next eighteen years. When we were little our mother (like most other mothers of her day) stayed home to take care of us. She was very good at this role -- in addition to all the day-to-day care and feeding she made the best doll clothes and the prettiest cupcakes. Our family enjoyed the luxury of meals together every night family vacations and a whole range of shared experiences.
As we got older our mom worked as a teacher where she had the opportunity to have a positive influence on the lives of many young people. From the vantage point of adulthood we know that our mother gave us much more than cupcakes and doll clothes during those years. We were lucky to grow up in an environment that provided us with many of the tools we've needed to find our way in the world. We continue to benefit every day from a clear set of values the model of a happy marriage and broad exposure to different ideas.
The roles of women in society have changed profoundly between her generation and ours and we lead very different lives than our mother did. Our mother has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting the lifestyles we've chosen and the choices we've made and we appreciate the fact that she's never critical. And for all the contrasts we understand that many things are the same -- as we grow older we recognize more and more of the common threads in women's lives.
For the last eleven years our mom has lived in Binghamton, New York. There she continues to be involved in a wide range of activities including the League of Women Voters the New York Pharmacy Board and various home ec and extension activities. She's now the proud grandmother of two: Allison and Jeff Cargill. As we write this she is preparing to take a three-month world tour with our dad. We're sure that this will be just one of many more adventures to come in her life. Patricia Lynne (Feisel) Cargill (ISU '80) Margaret Ann (Feisel) Craig (ISU '83)
6/22/94