Making WAVEs
by Alice Major
Marguerite Erixon when she entered college in 1938. (1806.0015, City of Greeley Museums, Permanent Collection. Cache la Poudre Yearbook, 1938)
Marguerite Erixon Cain
February 8, 1921 - November 29, 1990
Marguerite was born to Gustav and Ethel Erixon in Denver in 1921. She was a second-generation American: Gustav was the son of Swedish immigrants, while Ethel’s mother was a French Canadian. In 1930, they lived in Ogden, Utah, with Gustav working as a civil engineer on the railroad and Ethel caring for Marguerite and her younger sister Shirley.[1] A few years later, the family moved back to Colorado and settled in Greeley. Gustav was no longer with them. As head of the household, Ethel worked as a collector for a publishing firm, thus setting an example of strength for her daughters.[2]
Marguerite followed the trend of young single women seeking employment. In 1938, she enrolled at the Colorado State College of Education (now University of Northern Colorado). There, she began training for a career as a teacher in business education. She was a member of the Colvin Club, which promoted relationships between those in the business education field, and the Delta Sigma Epsilon sorority in 1941.[3]
World War II disrupted her plans, however, as it did for the thousands of other young women who enlisted in women’s reserves such as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and the Coast Guard SPARS. In October 1942, she became the first woman from Greeley to swear in to the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service).[4] The WAVES were unique from the Women’s Army Corps in that women’s rank and rate were parallel to those of their male counterparts. This distinction granted formal respect and legitimacy to servicewomen who faced discrimination from servicemen in their daily work. One of many who showed that women could do as good a job as men, Marguerite finished her Navy career as a Specialist First Class Petty Officer. She and her companions completed their service knowing that they had served their country and gained considerable professional experience to boot. Postwar, Marguerite married a Navy man, Jean Cain, a fellow veteran of World War II. They wed in Estes Park in 1948.[5]
Marguerite and Jean raised four children together in Commerce City. Marguerite had completed her formal service, but she wasn’t done serving her community yet. She engaged in politics as a member of the Colorado Jane Jeffersons. The Jane Jeffersons were founded in 1902 as an organization for women who wanted a more active role in the Democratic Party.[6] In addition to being an exceptional citizen, she was an exceptional mom. She involved herself as the president of the PTA and a Cub Scouts den mother. Jean supported the family as a field service engineer in the construction industry.
Marguerite lived to a natural death in 1990. Unlike the majority of Fort Logan National Cemetery headstones, Marguerite’s name is on the front. She died before Jean and broke barriers even in death.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “1930 United States Federal Census,” entry for Gus E. Erixon, Census Place: Ogden City, Weber, Utah; Page: 3B, Enumeration District: 29-34 database, accessed June 15, 2018, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[2] “1940 United States Federal Census,” entry for Ethel Erixon, Census Place: Greeley, Weld, Colorado, Page: 6B, Enumeration District: 62-105A, database, accessed June 15, 2018, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[3] Cache la Poudre, yearbook of the Colorado State College of Education, 1941, 66-67, accessed October 2, 2019, https://digarch.unco.edu/islandora/object/cogru%3A6399.
[4] JoAnna Luth Stull, “Historical Hindsights: Women Made WAVES in the Navy during World War II,” Greeley Tribune, January 28, 2013, accessed October 2, 2019, https://www.greeleytribune.com/news/local/historical-hindsights-women-made-waves-in-the-navy-during-world-war-ii/.
[5] U.S. Navy Recruitment Poster found on World War II Database, accessed October 2, 2019, https://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=4331.
[6] Records relating to the Jane Jefferson Democratic Club of Douglas County, Douglas County History Research Center, Douglas County Libraries, Castle Rock, Colorado, accessed October 2, 2019, http://www.douglascountyhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/collguides/id/170.
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