House Manager Janak Ramakrishnan gives Florrie Milligan a tour Florrie Martin Milligan moved in as a freshman to an all-women’s Stebbins Hall in 1946. She had not returned since the day she graduated in 1949. On a recent visit to Berkeley in September, Florrie was welcomed by a charming group of house managers (all men), including tour guide and president Janak Ramakrishnan. Janak earned his undergraduate degree in math at Harvard and is currently working on his PhD at Cal.

Most markedly different about the house, aside from men living there, were murals on the walls, which certainly were not part of the late 1940s decor. “I like the murals,” she remarked as she was led down a second floor hallway towards a room she once inhabited. There were at least three such rooms Florrie was able to see, and in most cases, meet the current residents.

Originally from San Pedro, California, Florrie came to UC Berkeley to escape the small town life she had begun to outgrow. Like so many co-op alums, Florrie found the cost to live in the co-ops an attractive alternative to the more expensive dormitory living. She also had the advantage of having her cousin Shiela Thompson precede her: “She lived there for ten years!” Florrie’s sister, Nell (Martin) Fogg also lived at Stebbins in 1942.

Florrie and the Stebbins Managers

While at Berkeley, Florrie met her future husband, William Milligan. He had been born in Mexico to a Danish mother and a British father. “Our fathers had met a long time ago in Mexico,” remembers Florrie. “Bill was bilingual, but culturally he was Danish.” He lived at International House, and according to Florrie, “He thought I was a communist. I thought he was a royalist.” And that’s how it was from the day they married in 1950 until the day he died in December 2004.

With the assets of her husband’s retirement plan Florrie established a charitable remainder trust which will one day benefit the USCA and I-House. The USCA is proud to welcome Florrie as the newest member of the Arnold D. Bogart Legacy Society.