Alice S. Hirai

Alice was born in San Francisco, California in 1939. During
World War II, her family was interned at Topaz. She
eventually moved to Northern Utah and became a nurse,
working for 54 years. She was an advocate for the disabled
community and helped create programs for challenged
youth. She took pride in educating people about the Japanese
community and internment camps. Hirai passed away in
2016.

Roseanne Peery King

Roseanne was born to Ogden’s Cowboy Mayor Harman Peery.
In 1948, she and her husband purchased the Rainbow Gardens
property at the mouth of Ogden Canyon from Harman. Used
for dancing in the ballroom and swimming in the natural
springs, in 1960, they added bowling lanes and a small boutique
shop. By 1970, the shops became one of the largest gift shops in
the West. King served three terms on Ogden City Council on
the 1970s, pushing for economic development and beautification
of the downtown area.

Marie L. Kotter

Marie started working at Weber State College in 1972. She
helped build the clinical laboratory sciences program, and
worked to increase the number of degrees to the health science
program. Eventually she became the first woman to sit on
the executive committee at Weber, and the first female vice
president at a four year institution in Utah in 1986.

Priti W. Kumar

Priti graduated 4th out of 3,000 with a master’s degree in
Hindi from India. She then went on to the University of Utah
to gain another master’s in English. She started working at
Weber State College in 1976, where she was a pioneer for
multiculturalism. She developed courses for Indian women
writers and global perspectives on literature. She received the
Hemingway Faculty Vitality Award several times, and the
Spirit of the American Woman for Higher Education award.

Shirley Kinsey LaRue

Shirley was the first African-American candidate for Ogden
High School student body office in 1948. She won a scholarship
that allowed her to attend college. She received her degrees from
the University of Utah and the University of Chicago. In 1952,
she became the first black teacher in Ogden City schools. She
started teaching first grade at Grant Elementary. She was
unable to do her student teaching in Salt Lake, so Superintendent
T.O. Smith allowed her to come and student teach at Hopkins
school.