Marian Sousa

Marian Sousa was a Draftsman from 1943-1944 at Richmond Shipyard #3.

NPS Photo/Luther Bailey

Marian McKey Sousa

Richmond Kaiser Shipyard #3 - Draftsman, 1943-1944

Early Life and Education
Marian McKey Sousa was born on January 6th, 1926, in Eugene, Oregon, to Sgt. L.H. and Mildred McKey. In 1940, her father, a career serviceman and WWI veteran, was transferred to Fort Stevens near Astoria, Oregon, prompting the family to move to the coastal town of Seaside. Marian was 15 years old on December 8th, 1941, when she sat in her high school’s auditorium to hear President Roosevelt’s speech declaring that the U.S. was at war with Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Move to Richmond and Introduction to the War Effort
In the summer of 1942, Marian traveled by Greyhound bus from Oregon to Richmond, CA, to babysit her young nephew while her sister, Phyllis, worked as a welder, building deckhouses in Pre-Fab at Shipyard #2. During that summer, Marian met her future husband, a Coastguardsman, and decided not to return to Oregon. Instead, she enrolled in Richmond High School for her senior year. The following spring, they married, and upon graduation, Marian’s high school art teacher recommended her for a special Engineering Drawing course at U.C. Berkeley, where she learned to read and draw blueprints.

Career as a Draftsman at Kaiser Shipyards
Immediately after completing her course, Marian was hired by Kaiser Shipyards to work as a draftsman in the Engineering Department at Yard #3. Her role involved making revisions to the blueprints of the troop transports being built. Marian worked in a room with other young draftsmen, while the senior architects and draftsmen were in a separate room handling more intricate technical work. Her job was to take the architects’ drawings, erase areas, and incorporate any revisions. Marian recalls fondly that the architects never looked down on them and treated them with respect.

Family Involvement in the War Effort
Marian’s second sister, Marge, also joined the workforce as a welder at Shipyard #2. After their father was transferred to Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, CA, their mother Mildred placed the youngest McKey daughter in Kaiser’s childcare and joined the growing workforce of women as a painter. At this point, four McKey women were actively involved in the war effort.

Life in San Pablo and Departure from the Workforce
Phyllis and her husband owned a house in San Pablo that, though small, accommodated both sides of their families. The beds were in constant rotation as family members worked day, swing, or graveyard shifts. Marian worked as a draftsman for a year before impending motherhood ended her time as a home front worker. The architects she worked with surprised her with a baby shower before she left.