Marilyn Jorgenson Reece (September 8, 1926 – May 15, 2004) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

, and the first woman to be licensed as a civil engineer by the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She designed an innovative interchange in the 1960s that handled fast moving traffic in Los Angeles. The interchange is now named after her.

Early life

Marilyn Jorgensen was born on September 8, 1926, in Kenmare, North Dakota, to Virgil and Marion Jorgenson. She was born of Danish descent.

Education

She attended

Shakopee Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of Minneap ...

High School in

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, graduating in the class of 1944 as the

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. She received a degree in civil engineering from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1948. Following graduation, she moved to

, and began working for the State Division of Highways. In 1954 she became the first woman to be a registered civil engineer in the state of California.

Career

Among the many many projects that she supervised, her most celebrated work is the iconic

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

between the 10 and the

405 __NOTOC__ Year 405 ( CDV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Anthemius (or, less frequently, year 1158 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 405 ...

freeways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. This interchange was designed to accommodate traffic moving at high speeds, and represented the forefront of traffic engineering in its day, opening in 1964. For this work she was awarded the Governor's Design Excellence Award from

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he ...

, and in 2008, this interchange was named in her honor.

Personal life

She was married to Alvin Reece who also worked as a civil engineer for

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

. They had two daughters, Kirsten Reece Stahl (who became a civil engineer) and Anne Reece Bartolotti (who became an Information Technology Project Manager). Alvin passed away in 2015 and Kirsten died unexpectedly in 2018. She died on May 15, 2004, in

Hacienda Heights, California Hacienda Heights () is an unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated bedroom community, suburban community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the community had a total population of 54,191, up from 54 ...

, and was survived by her husband, their two daughters and two grandsons, Christopher and Patrick Bartolotti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Marilyn Jorgenson 1926 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American engineers Transport engineers People from Kenmare People from North Dakota