Roll of Honor

The Roll of Honor was conceived in conjunction with the Fiftieth Anniversary and Golden Jubilee of the founding of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, recognizing founders and leaders. It is a distinct and special honor to be named by one’s Society for inclusion in the Roll of Honor. It is for service above and beyond the ordinary, for devotion and outstanding leadership and for dedication to the ideals of the Colonial Dames.  The Roll of Honor list remains an open one to which a Society can add the names of its distinguished members. 

The Roll of Honor book is a beautiful dark blue leather volume, exquisitely tooled in gold. The parchment pages are embossed in black India ink each year with the names of new honorees. The book is kept at Dumbarton House in the Archives. It is too valuable to be handled on a daily basis. During the Biennial Council, it is brought out and displayed in the front hall at Dumbarton House.

Roll of Honor

Presentation at the 123rd Annual Meeting of the NSCDA-IL

By Mary Hallock Fields, NSCDA National Roll of Honor Chair

Jeannine Marie Bergeron

2018 Ruck March

Jeannine Bergeron joined the Illinois Society in 2009.

In 2014, Jeannine was asked to serve on the Board as Chair of Hospitality which she has done for 6 years. During this time she helped standardize and refine our reservation system.

Additionally and most notably, she also introduced the Illinois Society to two significant projects, supporting Patriotic Service and aid to the military.

  • Toys for Tots has been a featured highlight of our annual Christmas Luncheon, where members contribute to the collection of toys for under-served children.  This December marks our fifth consecutive year for this service initiative.
  • Further, in 2018, she introduced the Illinois Dames to Chicago Veterans Ruck March, an endeavor to raise awareness of the challenges our veterans face, including PTSD and suicide. Every Memorial Day weekend, veterans, family members and friends from all over the United States come together to walk 20 miles through Chicago to honor and remember the service members we have lost at home and on the battlefield. The 20-mile hike through Chicago represents the 20 veterans we lose every single day to suicide according to a study produced by the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Last May, Jeannine organized Dames volunteers to help provide the ‘rest stop’ refreshments and lunch at a mid-point in Evanston. This project was recognized at the NSCDA Biennial with the 2018 Lamar Award for Excellence.

Illinois is so honored and thanks Jeannine for her dedication and diligence and for bringing these patriotic service projects to the Illinois Dames.

Camilla (Cami) Adele Boitel Burgess

In 2009, Cami Burgess joined the NSCDA-IL.  In 2011, she joined the Board of Managers as First Vice President, Membership Chair.  She served very ably in that position until 2015 when she was asked to become Chair of Museum Properties.

During her tenure as Chair, Cami worked with the City of Chicago at Clarke House Museum to coordinate docent led tours, open houses and movie nights in the park.  She also helped to raise funds for the Museum through successful benefit luncheons, held annually.  The relationship between Clarke House Museum and the City regarding Museum management became problematic when the City changed the terms and our longtime involvement with Glessner House was jeopardized.  With Cami’s previous experience in real estate, she was able to negotiate a new legal agreement and persevered to get it finalized.  In 2018, Cami retired from the Board but continued working with the City until a suitable contract was signed in January, 2019.  The Museum Advisory Committee, including Jean Perkins, Mary Fields, and Peggy Snorf, current Museum Properties Chair, devoted many hours to the cause.

We are all tremendously grateful to Cami for her perseverance and dedication to the Illinois Dames.

NSCDA-IL Honorees

Mrs. Samuel H. Kerfoot

Mrs. Samuel M. Nickerson

Mrs. Henry S. Robbins

Mrs. John C. Welling

Miss Cornelia G. Lunt

Mrs. James M. Walker

Mrs, Robert B. Gregory

Mrs. William S. Potwin

Mrs. Henry B. Mason

Miss Cornelia B. Williams

Mrs. Paul Blatchford

Mrs. Holmes Forsyth

Mrs. Heaton Owsley

Mrs. Carroll S. Sudler

Mrs. Robert G. Peck

Mrs. William B. Greenlee

Mrs. John Crerar

Miss Anna P. Williams

Mrs. Edgar J. Goodspeed

Mrs. Howell B. Erminger, Jr.

Miss Frances Whedon

Mrs. Louis E. Laflin, Jr.

Mrs. Samuel G. Taylor III

Mrs. Thomas R. Gowenlock II

Mrs. Manly S. Mumford

Mrs. Charles P. Sturges

Mrs. William T. Bacon

Mrs. Charles H. Brown

Mrs. Edward S. Price

Mrs. Richard Hobbs

Mrs. Samuel M. Nickerson

Mrs. F. Campbell Derby

Mrs. Gardner Brown

Mrs. Earle B. Fowler

Mrs. Gerald A. Sivage

Mrs. James A. Hynes

Mrs. LaRhett L. Stuart, Jr.

Mrs. Albert D. Williams

Mrs. Paul W. Guenzel

Mrs. Hunt Hamill

Mrs. Royce A. Hoyle, Jr.

Mrs. John W. Baird

Mrs. Louis C. Duncan

Mrs. John S. Graettinger

Mrs. Samuel E. McTier

Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein

Mrs. George W. Veness

Mrs. Donald R. Weber

Mrs. J. Jay Nichols

Mrs. Thomas J. Hoffman

Miss Diane Curtis

Miss Ralph A. L. Bogan, Jr.

Mrs. Robert Adams Carr

Ms. Jane Lord

Mrs. William G. McMillan

Mrs. Stephen F. Fields

Mrs. Robert E. Murphy

Mrs. Rudolf E. Knepper

Mrs. Jonathan A. Veeder

Mrs. Stephen G. Bell

Mrs. Richard M. Norton

Mrs. Philip Newton Jones

Mrs. Thomas J. Tausché

Miss Mary Morton

Mrs. Richard A. Schumacher

Mrs. David G. Linville

Ms. Jean Perkins

Ms. Jeannine M. Bergeron

Mrs. David H. Burgess