Living History: ‘Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, USNR’ by Linda Witkowski

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On June 28 at 3:30 p.m. in Orchestra Hall, the extraordinary story of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, United States Navy Reserve, will be brought to life by local actress Linda Palko Witkowski during ‘World War II Week’ of the Chautauqua Lecture Series.

Rear Admiral Hopper joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in WWII. When she retired in 1986 at the age of 80, with the rank of Rear Admiral, she was the oldest member of the Navy on active duty.

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, USNR

Grace Brewster Murray Hopper, also known as “Amazing Grace,” was born in 1906. She went on the earn a Ph.D. in mathematics at a time when women seldom went to college. She joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in WWII. When she retired in 1986 at the age of 80, with the rank of Rear Admiral, she was the oldest member of the Navy on active duty.

Linda Palko Witkowski

Linda Palko Witkowski holds a master’s degree in modern language and literature from Case Western Reserve University. She recently retired, having spent 50 years as a woman in the computer technology field, witnessing the emergence of this fascinating industry. She has also performed at area theaters for countless years, and, in July 2019, she took over the leadership of Women in History, a Cleveland area based non-profit corporation dedicated to the education of all people through the dramatic re-creation of lives of notable women in U. S. history.