ABSTRACT
Born in Clarksville, Texas, in 1921, Mary Meeker was the oldest of three children of half Acadian, one-fourth Lebanese, and one-fourth German descent (M. N. Meeker, unpublished survey, March 28, 2003). Mary’s father, who reluctantly had to quit school in the fourth grade to run his father’s general store, told his young daughter Mary that he was going to make sure she went to college as she was very smart. That year was 1925 and offered a glimpse of a bright, independentminded girl who grew up to be a passionate advocate for the development of diverse intellectual abilities.
