Poem: "The Only Woman"
This poem came out of the November 6, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by laurarey.
The Only Woman
-- in memory of Betty Louise Watts Yantis, 12/29/1932-10/17/2012
She was a pioneer for women
in the field of Civil Engineering.
She was the only woman
seeking the Bachelor of Science Degree
in Civil Engineering
at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville
Class of 1958.
She was the only woman
in engineering classes;
and at the Bachelor of Science level,
she was the only woman
in the college.
She was the only woman
as a draftsman in the engineering section
of AT&T where all employees were men.
When she married a Civil Engineer,
a professor in the field for many years,
she was -- being female --
expected to change her career field
without question.
She earned a Ph. D. in Economics.
So there.
She served as the Founding Director
of the UNLV Center for Business and Economics Research
and for many years she led
research development in Las Vegas.
She finished her career at UNLV
and earned the honor of Emeritus
shortly after retirement.
Her passions were teaching and travel,
which she twisted together like two strands of twine
wound around one wonderful package.
She taught in France, England, Italy,
Turkey, and Germany.
She taught at UNLV Las Vegas,
the University of Arkansas Fayetteville,
and the University of Kentucky.
She taught, and girls learned.
She left behind a large family including
daughters Laura Rey and Bonnie Charles Yantis,
granddaughter Rachel Clare Endicott-Rey,
step-children Robert MacGregor Nixon
and Patricia Nixon Reid,
and step-grandchildren Carol Nicole Nixon,
Kyle Jack Nixon, Jared Edward Nixon,
and Leah Jennifer Nixon.
They remember her love,
her compassion, her generosity,
and her determination that knowledge
should be used for the betterment of humankind.
Her last wish was:
Don't send flowers. Send memorial gifts to
the University of Arkansas, College of Engineering.
It just goes to show that
if you want to smash a glass ceiling,
send for an engineer;
if you want to work on equal pay,
ask for an economist;
and if you want to accomplish anything at all,
get down on your knees and pray for a mother.