Alice Chancellor
A white woman with dark hair, wearing a white headband, glasses and a patterned dress with short sleeves and a button front; she is seated in a wheelchair and reading a large softcover book
Alice Chancellor, from a 1971 publication of the United States federal government
BornSeptember 2, 1912
Kentland, Indiana
DiedJune 22, 1985
Sierra Vista, Arizona
OccupationElectronics engineer
Known forOutstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year (1971)

Alice Percilla Chancellor (September 2, 1912 – June 22, 1985) was an American electronics engineer, recipient of the 1970 Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year award.

Early life and education

Chancellor was born in Kentland, Indiana,[1] the daughter of James Robert Chancellor and Laura Maria Lowman Chancellor. Her father was a farmer.[2] She had a childhood accident and subsequent infection that, in adulthood, made her blind in one eye, and required both her legs to be amputated in separate surgeries (1962 and 1964).[3][4] In 1956, she resigned her civil service job to pursue a degree in engineering, which she completed at the University of Arizona.[5]

A white woman seated in a wheelchair, with an eyepatch, glasses, wearing a corsage; her legs are both prosthetics; she is holding a plaque; kneeling next to her is another white woman, First Lady Pat Nixon, wearing a checked suit and smiling
Alice Chancellor and Pat Nixon, at the 1971 presentation of the Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year award

Career

Chancellor, who used a wheelchair,[6] worked as a stenographer and typist as a young woman, in private industry, for an Indiana draft board during World War II, and after 1952 in the Federal Civil Service.[4] In 1962, after her college degree was completed, she was an electronics engineer for the United States Army in Arizona, at the Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca.[5] She was named the Department of the Army's 1970 Handicapped Employee,[7] and won the 1970 Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year award, which was presented to her at a March 1971 ceremony by Pat Nixon.[8][9]

Chancellor also received two Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Awards.[7][10] She was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and active in the Arizona chapter of the Armed Forces Communications Electronic Association.[5][11]

Personal life

Chancellor lived alone in her own house, and drove an adapted car. She enjoyed sewing clothes, for herself and for charity. In 1969, she donated 50 handmade Easter dresses to a nearby Indian reservation. She also made wardrobes for students at the Papago Indian School.[5] She died in 1985, in Sierra Vista, Arizona, aged 72 years.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Obituary for Alice P. Chancellor (Aged 72)". Journal and Courier. 1985-06-25. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Obituary for JAMES R. CHANCELLOR (Aged 76)". Journal and Courier. 1945-05-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Kudos". Army Research and Development News Magazine: 48. April 1971.
  4. 1 2 "Ft. Huachuca Amputee Named Employe of Year". Arizona Republic. 1970-11-10. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "10 of 22 Nominees for Handicapped Award Employed in Research, Development Efforts". Army Research and Development Newsmagazine. 12: 26–29. January 1971.
  6. ↑ "Woman's Army Award". Journal and Courier. 1965-10-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Army Names Chancellor 1970 Handicapped Employe". Army Research and Development Newsmagazine. 12: 15. March 1971.
  8. ↑ Rose, Edward F. (September 1971). "Decade of Change: Growth of the Federal Government's Program to Hire the Handicapped". Rehabilitation Record. 12 (5): 31–32. PMID 4255666.
  9. ↑ "Woman Engineer Wins Top Award". The Coordinator's Scoreboard. 2: 1, 4. June 1971.
  10. ↑ "Three Ft. Huachuca Civilians Get Awards". Tucson Daily Citizen. 1965-09-18. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Goldwater to Talk at Fort on Dec. 15". Tucson Citizen. 1977-11-25. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
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