A special commemorative event celebrating the life of Doris T. Westcott was held Sept. 8 at the USC Andrus Gerontology Center’s Stever Courtyard. Co-hosted by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the USC Rossier School of Education, the gala featured a tribute from nearly 100 friends and family members.

An outdoor meet and greet that featured images of her days as a USC undergraduate and her later years with family, friends and scholarship recipients was followed by a slide presentation in the Davis Auditorium and commemorative speeches.

Westcott’s life was filled with firsts. Honored as the first Helen of Troy in 1928, she represented the university at all important social functions again in 1929. She was the first female naval officer commissioned in the western United States. She also was the first woman to be named principal of a junior high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In spite of her pioneering achievements, her most significant source of pride came from the accomplishments of her students.

“I give because I’m so selfish,” she once said, and “because it does so much for me.” Westcott passed away in May at the age of 98.

Larry Marquardt was a former student who went on to become a lifelong friend, eventually adopting Westcott into his family. Or perhaps she adopted them, he quipped.

“She would glow when talking about her students,” Marquardt said. “Her obituary in the L.A. Times read she had no survivors, but we’re all her survivors.”

Beverly O’Neil, former mayor of the City of Long Beach, was a colleague and friend of Westcott. The two got to know each other while Westcott was principal of Compton High School and O’Neil was teaching at Compton Community College.

“We had a good professional relationship. I admired her very much,” O’Neil said. “She deserves so many tributes because she changed the lives of thousands and thousands of students.”

Jennifer Wieckowski – a recipient of the Doris T. Westcott Endowed Fellowship in Aging, one of five endowed scholarships in Westcott’s name at both the Rossier School and the Davis School – also had a close relationship with Westcott.

“She was such a good woman and helped me in many ways: socially, emotionally and as a mentor for school. She was one of the busiest 98-year-olds out there,” she said.

Kathryn Thomas was the 2005 recipient of the Doris Westcott Fellowship in Aging. At the time, she said, Westcott was very weak while recovering from a stroke and it would exhaust her to talk on the phone. Still, the two formed a bond.

“I was lucky to be part of the inner group that was touched by her generosity,” she said.