Elaine M. Kilbourne Scrapbooks

Elaine Margaretta Kilbourne, was born January 14, 1923, and grew up in Patterson, New Jersey, one of two children of Max and Emily Stecher. She graduated from Eastside High School in 1940, received her B.A. in Physical Sciences from Montclair State Teachers College in 1944 and completed a M.A. degree in Student Personnel Administration at Columbia University in 1947. Her marriage to Charles Kilbourne ended in divorce. Ms. Kilbourne taught chemistry at Anacostia High School in Washington, DC from 1948 to 1968. Throughout her long and distinguished career, she earned a local and national reputation for excellence in her teaching methods. In 1955, she received a special award from the Chemical Society of Washington for her excellence in teaching. In 1958 and 1963, Ms. Kilbourne received Principal Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching by the District of Columbia. The American Chemical Society recognized her contribution to the STEM field with numerous awards, including receiving the Second District James Bryant Conan Award in High School Chemistry Teaching. While serving as Science Education Specialist for the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ms. Kilbourne created a series of national curricula for high school chemistry seniors. She also worked as a Teaching Associate in the chemistry department at the University of Maryland, and for the National Science Foundation's summer program for chemistry teachers. Her passion for teaching students led to an appointment at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland where she taught for 16 years until her retirement. Throughout her long career, Ms. Kilbourne found inspiration in the "intrinsic challenge [of teaching chemistry] and the enthusiasm of the students—above all, witnessing their later successes in life." Elaine Margaretta Kilbourne passed away peacefully at the age of 91 at Paul Spring Retirement Community in Alexandria, VA., on June 14, 2014.