U.S. GIRL STUDIED TO BE UNDERTAKER

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28553, 5 April 1958, Page 2

U.S. GIRL STUDIED TO BE UNDERTAKER

Anyone asked to guess Miss Kay Johnson’s early choice of career would be almost certain to give the wrong answer. Tall, attractive and with a greaj zest for living, this young American woman sprang a surprise in an interview yesterday when she said: “I studied to be an undertaker at the University of Minnesota. Why? Because L wanted to help grief-stricken relatives to feel better.”' Undertaking is an art in the United States and a vocation to many. Miss Johnson said. Her intention was to go into business with her father, an undertaker in Duluth, Minnesota. Her subjects at the university included psychology, chemistry and general subjects. Not many women go in for undertaking as a career in the United States and most of those who do have a family connexion with the busi-

Before she had graduated. Miss Johnson’s brother, an airline pilot, persuaded her to become an air hostess. She ultimately joined the Braniff International Airways, stationed at Dallas, where she met another pilot who influenced her career. Thia was Mr Norman Peterson, now a Rotary Foundation scholar studying English at the University of Canterbury. He had another suggestion to make for a change in career—and that was to marry him. Miss Johnson arrived in New Zealand a week ago with a magnificent white silk taffeta bridal gown for their wedding next Saturday. They will live in a flat on Huntsbury Hill until the end of the year, when Mr Peterson expects to return to, the United States. On the way to New Zealantt, Miss Johnson spent a few days in Haw*a ii, where she bought much of her trousseau, including the “tea-timer” she was wearing yesterday. “Tea-Timer”-. ” The “tea-timer’’ is an ensemble that should catch the imagination of any modern New Zealand hostess. Made with a mandarinstyled frock split at the sides. Miss Johnson’s version is in turquoise blue cotton patterned tn a Chinese gojd lacquer design and worn over matching plain “pedal-pushers.” Her accessories were white Chinese ivory circle earrings and high-heeled brocade clogs.