When asked why she studied civil engineering, Reece replied, “Well, I like mathematics and I didn’t want to be a teacher.” In 1954 she became the first female civil engineer to be fully licensed in the state of California.
The State Division of Highways (later called Caltrans) put her to work, most notably designing the giant interchange of the San Diego and Santa Monica freeways, for which she received the Governor’s Design Excellence Award in 1962. “It’s amazing that all that was happening and she was pregnant with [me],” said her daughter, Anne Bartolotti. “With both my sister and me, when she came back from maternity leave, everyone was surprised because at that particular time as a woman in the work force, once you started having kids your career was over and you stayed home.”
Reece herself had no problems with the job. “If there’s any prejudice toward women, I’ve not encountered it,” she said in 1963. “Men have always been very helpful; and being a woman has never hampered me in my career.” She retired in 1983 and — yes — turned to teaching: engineering. She died May 15 in Southern California at 77.