Supreme Deputies of New Hampshire Rainbow
Mrs. Florence M. Lord, Past Supreme Deputy
Documents found through Portsmouth Assembly No. 2 indicate that Mrs. Florence M. Lord, Past Grand Matron of New Hampshire Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star (Ruth Chapter No. 16), was appointed Supreme Deputy in the early 1930’s. It is not clear whether she was Supreme Deputy of New Hampshire or of the New England Jurisdiction.
Mary D. Senior Brown, Past Grand Matron, Past Supreme Inspector
In 1935, New Hampshire’s first official Supreme Deputy, Mrs. Mary D. Senior Brown, was appointed by the Supreme Assembly in Oklahoma.
A leader in the Republican Party activities and a retired school teacher, Mrs. Brown was actively involved in local and statewide programs. She served as Worthy Grand Matron of New Hampshire Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star (Sawhegenit Chapter No. 51) in 1934-1935, and a Past General Grand Chapter Committee Member on Dispensations and Charters in 1934. In 1944, Governor Blood appointed Mrs. Brown to the Board of Trustees at the University of New Hampshire. She was also a Past President of the Sandwich Historical Society Museum from 1952-1954, and served in the electoral college from 1956 to 1960.
Mrs. Brown was appointed Supreme Inspector and elected to the House of Gold on June 20, 1946. Mrs. Brown was also appointed Supreme Drill Leader on September 16, 1948 and then elected Supreme Faith on July 10, 1960.
Mrs. Brown advanced to the office of Supreme Worthy Associate Advisor, New Hampshire’s only Supreme Inspector to ascend the line in the Supreme Assembly. She lived to see one of her own, Jeannette “Gigi” Luke serve as Supreme Worthy Advisor at the Philadelphia Convention in 1964. She passed away on April 17, 1966. A memorial was held at Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, NH with the Past Grand Worthy Advisors serving as usherettes and the Grand Officers of 1966 performing in the choir.
Mrs. Celia M. Howard, Past Supreme Inspector
Mrs. Celia M. Howard succeeded Mrs. Brown as Supreme Deputy in New Hampshire in 1966. Mrs. Celia M. Howard was a member of Rivermouth Chapter No. 54 and served as Mother Advisor in Portsmouth No. 2.
During Mrs. Howard’s serious illness, Mrs. Eugenie Black from Candia No. 29 was appointed Supreme Deputy from 1980-1981. She then resigned when Mrs. Howard was able to fulfill her duties, as New Hampshire “did not have enough Assemblies to warrant a Supreme Deputy and a Supreme Inspector.” She was Supreme Inspector and Member of the House of Gold until she passed away in 1990 (speculative).
Meredith S. Ritchie, Past Supreme Inspector
In 1990, Mrs. Meredith (Stout) Ritchie was appointed as Supreme Deputy, and was the first Past Grand Worthy Advisor of New Hampshire to be so honored.
Mrs. Ritchie became Supreme Inspector and Member of the House of Gold at the 75th Anniversary Supreme Sessions in St. Louis, July 1998.
Mrs. Ritchie served dutifully as Supreme Inspector until 2000, when her daughter, Ashlyn, ascended the line and was installed as Grand Worthy Advisor. She nominated Mrs. Kristen L. (Young) Cadwallader as Supreme Deputy for the jurisdiction, and Mrs. Cadwallader was appointed at the Supreme Sessions in July 2000.
Mrs. Kristen (Young) Cadwallader, Past Supreme Deputy
Kristen Young Cadwallader was in Melrose, MA. A graduate of Spaulding High School, she attended the New Hampshire College (now Southern NH University) and received a Bachelors of Business Administration Degree.
Mrs. Cadwallader joined the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls in NH through Rochester Assembly No. 11 in 1986, and served in many offices, including Worthy Advisor several times, as well as several Grand Offices. She also received Rainbow’s highest honor, becoming a Master of the Grand Cross of Color. She affiliated to Portsmouth Assembly No. 2, and joined Rivermouth Chapter No. 54 in Portsmouth (now surrendered) in 1992.
Mrs. Cadwallader is the current owner of Postal Center USA in Rochester, NH, where she lives with her husband and two children, Cole, 8, and Bryn, 4.
The youngest in the State to serve as Supreme Deputy, Mrs. Cadwallader had fresh and modern ideas on promoting NH Rainbow, and her ties to the communities on the seacoast served the organization well. Mrs. Cadwallader presided until July 2005.
Mrs. Catherine G. Morrison, Past Supreme Deputy
Born in New London, NH, Mrs. Morrison lived in Henniker, NH until she graduated from New Hampshire College (now Southern NH University) in Manchester, NH in 1977. In 1978, she married David Morrison and relocated to Concord, NH.
Mrs. Morrison became involved with the organization in 1995 when her eldest daughter, Kelli-Ann, joined Pemigewasset Assembly #28 in Franklin, NH. She then became actively involved in Priscilla Chapter #51, Order of the Eastern Star, in Penacook, NH in 2001. A year later, her youngest daughter, Stephanie, also joined the Assembly through the Pledge Program in 2002.
Mrs. Morrison is a Master of the Grand Cross of Color, and has served as an adult advisor on the Pemigewasset Assembly Advisory Board, Mother Advisor to Pemigewasset Assembly, Grand Executive Committee Member, and State Mother Advisor. She was Supreme Deputy from 2006 to 2008.
Mrs. Morrison work as a Billing Supervisor at Concord Eye Care, Concord Hospital campus.
Mrs. Morrison anchored New Hampshire to an ideal of fortitude, working diligently with the Grand Executive Committee and the Jr. Grand Executive Committee to enhance Rainbow’s membership attrition and retention programs. In July 2008, Mrs. Morrison resigned as Supreme Deputy as her daughter, Stephanie, became more active in Rainbow as a Grand Officer.
Mrs. Joan L. Smith, Supreme Deputy
Born in Springfield, MA, Mrs. Smith was an active member of Ludlow Assembly No. 55 in Ludlow, MA for five years until she reached her majority in 1974. She graduated eighth in her class from Ludlow High School that same year, where she met her husband Brian J. Smith. They married in 1978 and moved to Nashua, NH in 1980 after the birth of their first son, Joshua.
An active member of Eastern Star through James W. Hannum Chapter No. 150 in Ludlow, she affiliated with Pilgrim Chapter No. 55 in Nashua in 1980 and began her career of volunteering and service. She began working with Nashua Assembly No. 9, in 1992 when her two daughters, Tracey (Smith) Thompson and Allison Smith became interested in Rainbow, and served as an Advisory Board member and Mother Advisor of the Assembly, then served at the State level as Grand Deputy, Coordinator of Grand Assembly and a member of the Grand Executive Committee.
Mrs. Smith is a Master of the Grand Cross of Color, a Past Mother Advisor of Nashua Assembly #9, a Past Matron of Pilgrim Chapter No. 55 (Nashua), and served as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Chapter of New Hampshire in 2009. She has also served on the Youth Committee and Public Relations Committee for the Grand Chapter of New Hampshire, Order of the Eastern Star.
Mrs. Smith works as a Registered Nurse in the State of New Hampshire.
Mrs. Smith brought a wealth of knowledge to Rainbow in New Hampshire, and her strong and cooperative ties to the Free and Accepted Masons in NH and the Order of the Eastern Star in NH began to create a unification of the Masonic Bodies.