A Bit of History
Thelma Stafford McPherson was born on a farm in Gravity, Iowa. She earned her Master’s degree from Iowa State University. As a new teacher, she started out in a one-room schoolhouse in Gravity, just as her mother had.
Later, Thelma taught high school home economics in Iowa and Missouri. While she was teaching in Tarkio, MO, she met Alex McPherson on a blind date. They were married a year later and were together for 58 years.
Thelma and Alex were long-time Wheaton residents. They had Korean friends in Kansas City, who were members of a Christian Evangelical Southeast Asian group. Their daughter – a nurse – moved to the Chicago area, and they asked Thelma to help her develop her English language usage. Thelma turned to her friend Joanna, who had been affiliated with a literacy group out east.
Their interest in helping additional immigrants grew, as they discovered that there was a community need for foreign-born to learn English. In the early 1970’s, there was an influx of East and Southeast Asian refugees to the area, primarily from Korea, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In seeking resources, Thelma learned of Literacy Volunteers of America in New York state, which led to initiating the DuPage County affiliate. In addition to the immigrant population, they also worked with illiterate, native speakers of English.
