Women's Bar Association of Illinois

History: Benefactors

Judge Mary Heftel Hooton
In 1993, Judge Mary Heftel Hooton bequested her estate to the WBAI for a permanent home.  The organization was able to acquire a condominium at the Chicago Bar Association building at 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, Illinois.  She graduated from DePaul University Law School in 1943.  She was in private practice for many years before being elected a judge in 1976.  Her name was first on the judicial ballot.  Denied the backing of the Democratic party, she ran as an independent and was endorsed by all three Chicago metropolitan newspapers.  She was President of the WBAI from 1976-1977.

Cary Ann Bechly
In 1966, Cary Ann Bechly donated $100,000 to the WBAI for scholarships to law schools in Illinois.  She was a federal tax attorney for Kirkland & Ellis for many years and one of the founders of the Women’s Bar Foundation in 1968; she was the Foundation’s Treasurer.  She is now deceased.

Katherine Maddux Stimson
In 1994, Katherine Maddux Stimson left the Women’s Bar Foundation a bequest.  She graduated from John Marshall Law School in 1944.  She was a teacher in Chicago public schools for 50 years and a part-time lawyer.  She was a WBAI director and chaired the Family Court Committee and Education Committee.  She was a WBAI delegate to the Illinois Commission on Children and Youth and the Illinois Advisory Committee on Education.

Continue to WBAI Firsts >>