Mary Shields ("Mamie") Pyle
1866-1949

Mary Shields Pyle was president of South Dakota's woman suffrage organization from 1910 to 1918. Through this group, the New Jersey native succeeded in convincing male voters to give women the right to vote in 1918.

Pyle was also a schoolteacher in Beadle County. Taking an active role in college affairs, she served as trustee of Huron College from 1902 to 1949.

In 1947, Pyle was chosen as South Dakota mother of the year. Among her children was Gladys Pyle, South Dakota's first woman to serve as a state and national legislator.

A more detailed profile is printed in Volume 8 Number 1 of South Dakota History, the journal of the South Dakota State Historical Society.