1940s
Students named Alita Boecker the first Chestnut Burr Queen in 1941.
This KSU Instagram post highlighted Alita (Boecker) Neff-Dupuis’s 100th birthday on February 17, 2021.
Alita (Boecker) Neff-Dupuis, BA ’43, Beverly Hills, FL, turned 100 years young on Feb. 17, 2021. Since her children wouldn’t be able to celebrate with her because of the pandemic, one of her daughters, Susan Grace, reached out to see if Kent State could give her a surprise Happy Birthday greeting.
She sent along a current photo and a clipping from a newspaper dated Jan. 25, 1941, which announced that Alita Boecker, a Kent State sophomore from Melrose, Massachusetts, had been named the first Chestnut Burr Queen.
After digging into Kent State’s digital collections we discovered that, in addition to being selected queen by more than 800 student votes, she also had been quite involved in extracurricular activities—as manager of the women’s modern dance club, treasurer of Moulton Hall dormitory, secretary of the art club, chairman of the decorations committee for the Sophomore Sweater Swagger dance and more.
She majored in history and government and became a librarian after graduation. She also met her first husband, William G. Neff, at Kent State in 1940. He enlisted in the US Army shortly after Pearl Harbor and later transferred to the US Air Force. They married in 1944 and had five children. The family moved to Miami, Florida, after he left the service in 1957. Although they divorced in 1969 and later both remarried, they remained lifelong friends. (William Neff died in May 2014 at age 95.)
According to her daughter, her mother remains as active as she was during college: “She still stays connected with her social club friends and remains engaged with her reading, gardening, fabric arts, computer activities, etc. Mom is thriving, living independently and enjoying life to the fullest. Staying physically and mentally active has kept her young at heart and of spirit.”
On her birthday, Kent State posted birthday greetings on Facebook and Instagram.
Martin E. Gordon, BS ’44, St. Louis, wrote, “I am hoping to inspire young students who may be wondering whether their studies will ever become fruitful. I was a day student applying for numerous applications for medical school, yet I suddenly became the first Kent State University student to be admitted to the Yale School of Medicine.
“At 99 years of age, I wish to urge students to recognize the virtues of the Kent State valued scholastics and recall that your future rests on diligent focus, generated within. The background I received as a pre-med student contributed immensely to that Yale admission and then followed a career in academic teaching. I hope to stimulate others into the exciting and ever-expanding biosciences.”
Dr. Gordon is a renowned gastroenterologist and expert in travel medicine. He served as clinical professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and emeritus chairman and lifetime trustee at Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. During his medical career, he diagnosed patients with mysterious gastrointestinal symptoms and provided fellow physicians with guides to diagnoses and cures via educational materials, lectures and exhibits. He has authored many scientific publications—which focus on clinical solutions—and has received awards for his medical films and other efforts.
His new e-book, Plants R Cures: An Almanac of Plants and Medicine (LifeRich Publishing, 2019), explores the intersection of plants and medicine, now and in the past, while also offering a practical guide to the use of herbs to treat a large variety of ailments. The book also features anecdotal patient cases from his storied practice and world travels.
Dr. Gordon continues as a senior attending physician at the Free Clinic in University City, Missouri, teaching medical, nursing and pharmacy students, while treating (with translators) many international immigrants.