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{{Infobox person  

{{Infobox person  

| name=Dorothey Phillis Hall<br /> "Kitty" DeGree<br>

| name=Dorothey Phillis Hall<br> "Kitty" DeGree<br>

(Louisiana real estate developer and philanthropist)

(Louisiana real estate developer and philanthropist)

| image=Kitty Degree of LA.jpg

| image=Kitty Degree of LA.jpg

| birth_date=July 29, 1922

| birth_date=July 29, 1922

| birth_place =South Sutton, Merrimack County<br>[[New Hampshire]], USA

| birth_place=South Sutton, Merrimack County<br>[[New Hampshire]], USA

| death_date=October 25, 2012 (aged 90)

| death_date=October 25, 2012 (aged 90)

| death_place=West Monroe, Ouachita Parish<br>[[Louisiana]]

| death_place=West Monroe, Ouachita Parish<br>[[Louisiana]]

'''Parents''':<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

Richard Elmer and Helen Crampton Hall

Richard Elmer and Helen Crampton Hall

|branch=[[United States Coast Guard}}

|branch=[[United States Coast Guard]]}}

'''Dorothey Phillis Hall DeGree''', known as '''Kitty DeGree''' (July 29, 1922 &ndash; October 25, 2012), was a [[real estate]] developer, civic figure, and philanthropist in her adopted city of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], [[Louisiana]], In the he last years of her life, she was the largest single donor to the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]].

'''Dorothey Phillis Hall DeGree''', known as '''Kitty DeGree''' (July 29, 1922 &ndash; October 25, 2012), was a [[real estate]] developer, civic figure, and philanthropist in her adopted city of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], [[Louisiana]], In the he last years of her life, she was the largest single donor to the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]].

==Background==

==Background==

Born in [[rural]] South Sutton in Merrimack Count in south central [[New Hampshire]], DeGree was one of six children of Richard Elmer and Helen Crampton Hall. With her husband, Joseph Alex Napoleon DeGree, a [[United States Navy]] veteran of [[World War II]], DeGree came to Monroe in 1949 so that he could take a position in the paper mill industry. She or her husband had also lived in [[Vermont]] in their younger years, locations not available. After numerous years as a housewife, DeGree obtained employment as a secretary and thereafter as a bookkeeper, receptionist, and assistant to a [[dentist]]. In the 1970s, she convinced a bank to lend her money in her own name to start a real estate business in which she worked initially nearly round the clock.<ref name=bio>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?pid=160664260|title=Dorothey Hall "Kitty" DeGree|newspaper=[[The News-Star|The Monroe News-Star]]|date=October 27, 2012|accessdate=July 7, 2015}}</ref>

Born in [[rural]] South Sutton in Merrimack Count in south central [[New Hampshire]], DeGree was one of six children of Richard Elmer and Helen Crampton Hall. With her husband, Joseph Alex Napoleon DeGree, a [[United States Navy]] veteran of [[World War II]], DeGree came to Monroe in 1949 so that he could take a position in the paper mill industry. She or her husband had also lived in [[Vermont]] in their younger years, locations not available. After numerous years as a housewife, DeGree obtained employment as a secretary and thereafter as a bookkeeper, receptionist, and assistant to a [[dentist]]. In the 1970s, she convinced a bank to lend her money in her own name to start a real estate business in which she worked initially nearly round the clock.<ref name=bio>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?pid=160664260|title=Dorothey Hall "Kitty" DeGree|publisher=The Monroe News-Star''|date=October 27, 2012|accessdate=July 7, 2015}}</ref>

==Career==

==Career==

With burgeoning financial success, DeGree in 1984 contacted the ULM, then known as  Northeast Louisiana University, to donate three hundred [[apartment]]s through her charitable trust. She was also a donor in the development of the Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe. For three decades, she was aligned with St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Monroe to improve regional health care.<ref name=bio/>

With burgeoning financial success, DeGree in 1984 contacted the ULM, then known as  Northeast Louisiana University, to donate three hundred [[apartment]]s through her charitable trust. She was also a donor in the development of the Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe. For three decades, she was aligned with St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Monroe to improve regional health care.<ref name=bio/>

The ULM School of Nursing and the Breast Health Center at St. Francis Hospital are named in her honor, the former at the personal request of the former university president, Nick Bruno.<ref name=mns/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://catalog.ulm.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=15&ent_oid=529&returnto=1928|title=Kitty DeGree School of Nursing|publisher=catalog.ulm.edu|accessdate=June 20, 2015}}</ref> So is the Kitty DeGree Speech and Hearing Center at ULM.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ulm.edu/slp/clinic.html|title=Kitty DeGree Speech and Hearing Center|publisher=[[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]|accessdate=July 7, 2015}}</ref> There is the Kitty DeGree Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in Business.<ref>[https://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/tempo/community/monroe-chamber-seeks-kitty-degree-award-nominations/article_7aa13c42-eb45-11e7-b944-375b7b920fe6.html "Monroe chamber seeks Kitty DeGree award nominations"], December 29, 2017</ref>

The ULM School of Nursing and the Breast Health Center at St. Francis Hospital are named in her honor, the former at the personal request of the former university president, Nick Bruno.<ref name=mns/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://catalog.ulm.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=15&ent_oid=529&returnto=1928|title=Kitty DeGree School of Nursing|publisher=catalog.ulm.edu|accessdate=June 20, 2015}}</ref> So is the Kitty DeGree Speech and Hearing Center at ULM.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ulm.edu/slp/clinic.html|title=Kitty DeGree Speech and Hearing Center|publisher=[[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]|accessdate=July 7, 2015}}</ref> There is the Kitty DeGree Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in Business.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/tempo/community/monroe-chamber-seeks-kitty-degree-award-nominations/article_7aa13c42-eb45-11e7-b944-375b7b920fe6.html|title=Monroe chamber seeks Kitty DeGree award nominations|date=December 29, 2017}}</ref>

Along with the civic activist Sandy Rosenthal of [[New Orleans]], DeGree was inducted in 2008 into the Louisiana Center for Women and Government Hall of Fame at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Feb 28, 2008: Four women to be inducted to hall of fame|url=http://www.nicholls.edu/news/2008/four-women-to-be-inducted-to-hall-of-fame/|publisher=[[Nicholls State University]]|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref> DeGree also dedicated much time and money to veterans causes. She pushed for the establishment of the Veterans Administration Clinic and the War Veteran's Home in Monroe. She personally funded the memorial monument commemorating Selman Field at the Monroe Regional Airport..<ref name=bio/> An exhibit at the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe is dedicated to DeGree, who herself served in the [[United States Coast Guard]] from 1942-1945 during the World War II era, achieving the rank of Yeoman First Class.<ref>Scott, Griffin and Sliger, Amy. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GciZBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=Kitty+DeGree+%22coast+guard%22&source=bl&ots=2uhZRQA45q&sig=ACfU3U2zfhTUFJmOpHbCVle7J0b_MDgq2g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi20Zfh5rfmAhVHMqwKHUSnDzgQ6AEwAnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Kitty%20DeGree%20%22coast%20guard%22&f=false "Kitty DeGree"], ''Legendary Locals of Monroe Louisiana'', Charleston, South Carolina, [[Arcadia Publishing]], 2014, page 33. {{ISBN|9781467101639}}</ref> She was a large donor to the Chennault museum.<ref>Kitty DeGree exhibit, Chennault Aviation and Military Museum, [[Monroe, Louisiana]]</ref>

Along with the civic activist Sandy Rosenthal of [[New Orleans]], DeGree was inducted in 2008 into the Louisiana Center for Women and Government Hall of Fame at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Feb 28, 2008: Four women to be inducted to hall of fame|url=http://www.nicholls.edu/news/2008/four-women-to-be-inducted-to-hall-of-fame/|publisher=[[Nicholls State University]]|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref> DeGree also dedicated much time and money to veterans causes. She pushed for the establishment of the Veterans Administration Clinic and the War Veteran's Home in Monroe. She personally funded the memorial monument commemorating Selman Field at the Monroe Regional Airport..<ref name=bio/> An exhibit at the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe is dedicated to DeGree, who herself served in the [[United States Coast Guard]] from 1942-1945 during the World War II era, achieving the rank of Yeoman First Class.<ref>Scott, Griffin and Sliger, Amy. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GciZBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=Kitty+DeGree+%22coast+guard%22&source=bl&ots=2uhZRQA45q&sig=ACfU3U2zfhTUFJmOpHbCVle7J0b_MDgq2g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi20Zfh5rfmAhVHMqwKHUSnDzgQ6AEwAnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Kitty%20DeGree%20%22coast%20guard%22&f=false "Kitty DeGree"], ''Legendary Locals of Monroe Louisiana'', Charleston, South Carolina, [[Arcadia Publishing]], 2014, page 33. {{ISBN|9781467101639}}</ref> She was a large donor to the Chennault museum.<ref>Kitty DeGree exhibit, Chennault Aviation and Military Museum, [[Monroe, Louisiana]]</ref>

[[Category:Business People]]

[[Category:Business People]]

[[Category:Women]]

[[Category:Women]]