Dorothy Murphy Healy (March 21, 1914 – October 16, 1990) was an American educator, historian, and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. She was Professor of English Literature at

Westbrook College Westbrook College was a liberal arts college in Portland, Maine, founded 1831 as Westbrook Seminary in Westbrook, Maine. It closed in 1996 and merged with the University of New England, which uses its old campus. History In 1831, Westbrook Semi ...

, Portland, Maine, where she also served in various administrative capacities. In 1959 she co-founded the Maine Women Writers Collection at the college and built the collection into one of over 4,000 volumes by the time of her death in 1990. She was posthumously inducted into the

Maine Women's Hall of Fame The Maine Women's Hall of Fame was created in 1990 to honor the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Maine. The induction ceremonies are held each year during March, designated as Women's History Month. Nominees are chosen by the ...

in 1993.

Early life and education

Dorothy Estelle Murphy was born in Boothbay, Maine, to Samuel Murphy and his wife, Abbie Gamage Murphy. She attended public school in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

, and graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1936.

Career

After graduation, Murphy secured a position as an English literature instructor at Westbrook Junior College in Portland, Maine. She remained at the college for over five decades, teaching composition and literature and also working in administration, including the posts of director of development and administrative assistant to the president. Healy compiled historical data on the college, leading to her creation of the Presidents of Westbrook College Collection, which consists of memos, correspondence, and mentions about the presidents in publications and websites from the inception of the college in 1834 until 1996. The idea for the Maine Women Writers Collection was sparked by a 1959 field trip taken by Healy and her colleague, Grace A. Dow, professor of literature at Westbrook, with their students, to view the

Thomas Harding Thomas Harding (born 1448 in Cambridge, Gloucestershire, England and died at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, May 1532) was a sixteenth-century English religious dissident who, while waiting to be burnt at the stake as a Lollard in 1532, wa ...

collection at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

. Dow suggested to Healy that they start their own collection of Maine women writers, and the idea was approved by Edward Blewett, Westbrook president. The collection received a $400 budget and its first acquisition was a volume donated by the Healys from their personal library: ''A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets'' by

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

, a native of Rockland, Maine. Dow curated the collection until 1967, after which Healy took over as curator until her death in 1990. Seeking "novels, stories, diaries, journals, letters and memorabilia" of both well-known and obscure authors, Healy made connections with writers, collectors, and book dealers throughout New England. By the time of her death, the collection housed over 4,000 volumes by more than 400 Maine women writers and 200 related authors. The collection has continued to expand and, as of 2010, is a repository for over 8,000 volumes by more than 500 Maine writers. Healy also conducted 50 to 60 public lectures annually based on material housed in the collection, and convened conferences, book debuts, and literary receptions at the collection's home in Westbrook College. In the course of her work, she befriended numerous Maine women writers, including

May Sarton May Sarton was the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (May 3, 1912 – July 16, 1995), a Belgian-American poet, novelist and memoirist. Although her best work is strongly personalised with erotic female imagery, she resisted the label of ‘lesbi ...

and Mary Ellen Chase. As a result of her personal connection with Healy, Sarton gifted her poetry library to the Maine Women Writers Collection.

Other activities

Healy and her husband purchased the Bald Hill turkey farm in New Gloucester, Maine, in 1943. By 1949, they were raising an average of 3,000 turkeys annually, along with 800 pheasants and 50 Chukar partridges. They operated the farm until 1973, when failing health forced her husband to retire from the enterprise. In 1948 she was elected secretary of the Maine Turkey Growers Association, and in 1949, secretary and treasurer.

Awards and honors

Westbrook College honored Healy with several awards and recognition, including the designation of Dorothy Healy Day in 1975, the Woman of Achievement Award in 1984, and the Dorothy Healy Scholarship Award. She received a Distinguished Service Award from

in 1987 and an Achievement Citation Award from the Maine chapter of the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

in 1990. She was posthumously inducted into the

in 1993. After her death in 1990, the Dorothy M. Healy Professorship was endowed by Healy's long-time friend, philanthropist John Payson. Originally a visiting professorship, in 2007 it became a full-time faculty position in the Department of English at the University of New England (which merged with Westbrook College in 1996), combined with directorship of the Maine Women Writers Collection.

Personal life

In October 1938 she married John Vincent Healy (1911–1979), a poet and literary critic. They had two sons and a daughter. Their youngest son, Thomas, committed suicide at the age of 26. She died on October 16, 1990. The Dorothy M. Healy Collection, 1900–1987, containing her notes and records of the history of the Westbrook College campus, is housed at the University of New England.

References

External links

*
''The Maine Women Writers Collection: The first 50 years''
2009 film {{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Dorothy M. 1914 births 1990 deaths American curators American women curators American women historians People from New Gloucester, Maine Academics from Portland, Maine Boston University alumni People from Boothbay, Maine Westbrook College faculty 20th-century American women 20th-century American people