Iowa Women's Archives
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa

MARY TERRONEZ (1918- )

PAPERS, 1936-2005
2.5 linear inches and artifact

Collection Overview

Biography

Maria (Mary) Ramirez Terronez was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1918 to Adelida Gutierrez Ramirez and Dionisio Ramirez, the third oldest of fourteen children. She was four years old when her father was recruited to work for the Rock Island Railroad in Davenport, Iowa. The rest of the family joined him one year later in 1923, when Mary Ramirez was five years old. They settled in the barrio near the railroad tracks known as Cook’s Point. Ramirez attended Davenport schools where she completed the sixth grade after which she stayed home to help her mother cook, clean, and look after her siblings. In 1936 she married Felipe Bravo Terronez, a railroad worker, who was originally from Mexico and had grown up in Silvis, Illinois. The couple had six children: Virginia (born 1933), John (born 1938), Phyllis (born 1940), Irene (born 1944), Georgia (born 1949), and Randolph (born 1955). Mary Terronez became a U.S. citizen in 1962.

Terronez was a community activist most of her adult life—from the 1940s through the 1990s. For example she served as an interpreter and liaison between the Spanish-speaking community and the schools, sheriff’s department, U.S. Immigration Service, business owners, medical doctors, and welfare agencies. She was the spokesperson for the Cook’s Point residents during their forced relocation in 1952. During the 1960s she supported the grape boycott by picketing local businesses and organizing a reception for Cesar Chavez in her home. From 1971-1974 she was the job coordinator for the Area Board for Migrants; in this position she worked with the Spanish-speaking community in the Quad Cities, interviewing job seekers, contacting employers, and matching job seekers with job vacancies. Terronez later worked with the Muscatine Migrant Committee, and as a teacher’s aide for the Davenport Community School District where she raised funds for new playground equipment at Jefferson Elementary. In 1976 she completed her GED and continued her education at Palmer Junior College where she graduated with an AA degree in 1980; she was honored with a placement in Who’s Who Among American Junior College Students. Terronez was involved in many organizations including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Mexican-American Committee on Education, and the Visiting Nurses Association. Terronez received recognition from institutions including the University of Iowa Chicano-Indian American Student Union, the American Institute of Commerce, and the State of Illinois. She was named KRVR radio’s “Quad-Citian for the Day” in April of 1983. In 1997, Terronez attended President Clinton’s second inauguration in Washington, DC.

Scope and Content Note

The Mary Terronez papers date from 1936 to 2005 and measure 2.5 linear inches. The biographical information folder includes copies of her birth certificate and certificate of naturalization, and resumes from different time periods in her life.

The Cook’s Point economic survey conducted by Reverend William O’Connor and members of the Human Relations Club of St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa, describes the living conditions and history of the settlement. This folder also contains a copy of a series of articles written in 1963 by Reverend O’Connor for the Tri-City Labor Times entitled, “Racial Injustice in Iowa.” In No.15, O’Connor describes the speech Terronez made in defense of the Cook’s Point residents.

The letters of recommendation include a letter from Sister Irene Muñoz concerning Mary Terronez’s work with the Muscatine Migrant Committee from 1977 to 1978.

The newspaper clippings include articles about the Terronez family, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) festivals, local activism related to the grape boycott, and migrant worker issues. A 1974 article describes the master’s art project of Irene Terronez, Mary Terronez’s daughter, entitled “Reflections of a Mexican Heritage.”

Mary Terronez’s daughter, Phyllis Fillers, was present during the oral history interview conducted by Kären Mason, and she participated in it.

The materials pertaining to Mary Terronez’s husband Felipe Bravo Terronez include photocopies of: a newspaper clipping about the Mexican All-Stars baseball team he played on in the 1920s; a 1953 shop train pass; a 1967 union card for the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America; and a. photocopy of a 1936 seniority list for the Rock Island Line, Illinois Division, Maintenance of Way Department which lists Mary Terronez’s husband Felipe Bravo Terronez and her father Dionisio Ramirez.

The folder on John Terronez includes newspaper articles and memorial tributes. John was an active community leader, and he died in 1997. He chaired the local grape boycott effort and was president of LULAC for many years. For over twenty years, John Terronez worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as a conciliator in the Community Relations Service. He received a distinguished service award in 1979 for his work on the 1978 “Longest Walk”—a Native American protest march from Los Angeles to Washington, DC.

The photos are family shots ranging from the 1940s to 2004, but most were taken between 1960 and 1990. The names of the people in the photos are written on the backs of many of the photos.

An embroidered, red LULAC Council #10 bowling shirt that belonged to Virginia Terronez completes the collection.

Related Collections

Oral history interview with Irene Terronez, artist and daughter of Mary Terronez.

Box List

Box 1

Awards, 1976-1995 Biographical information, 1962-2005 and undated Cook’s Point survey, 1963 [copied from Rusty Barceló’s collection] Letters of recommendation, 1975-1984 Newspaper clippings, 1959-1997 and undated (2 folders) Oral history, 2003

Transcript Audiocassettes [AC939-AC940 shelved in audiocassette collection]

Terronez, Felipe Bravo [husband of Mary Terronez] Terronez, John, 1965-1997 [son of Mary Terronez] Photographs, 1947-2004 and undated (2 folders)

Box 2

Artifact:

LULAC Council #10 bowling shirt, ca.1967

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Page created October 2005.