Patsy O'Connell Sherman

During this time, men were overseas fighting in the World War while women were expected to pick up the slack, giving them freedom and independence, which she heavily used.

She attended Minneapolis North High School, where she did the men's aptitude test as the woman just told her housewife, and she wasn't happy with that.

Shadowing her father, she chose to pursue a career in finance and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College as a chemistry and math major - she was the first ever to do so.

With Samuel Smith, Sherman co-invented Scotchgard, which soon become one of the most famous and widely used stain repellent and soil removal products in North America.

In October 2002, along with notable speakers such as Steve Wozniak (the inventor of the Apple computer), Sherman spoke at the 200th anniversary celebration of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Her husband Hubert Sherman had died in 1996, while her two surviving daughters were Shari Loushin (also a 3M chemist) and Wendy Heil, who owned Advanced Optics, Inc.[1][13]