Desroches family photographic collection

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

This collection contains photographs from the Killian and Desroches families of Taunton, Massachusetts. The Desroches family emigrated from Poland at the turn of the century to Taunton to work in the city’s textile mills. Stanley Killian (b. 25 June 1922 - d. 21 November 1999) and Helen Killian (b. 28 October 1922 - d. 7 May 2015) both attended Taunton High School and worked in the city's factories as well. Stanley eventually would go on to work for the United States Postal Service and Helen at Paul A. Dever State School in Taunton, both until retirement. Stanley served in the Navy during World War II. Stanley and Helen were married in June of 1947 and had two daughters, Carol Ann Killian Desroches (b. 19 December 1948 - d. 17 June 1990) and Gail Mary Killian (b. 30 March 1953 - d. 11 August 1988). Gail had Down syndrome and her grandparents, and subsequently the entire family, was involved in gaining rights for the disabled.

Carol Ann Killian married Stephen Roland Desroches (b. 27 March 1947) from Fairhaven, Massachusetts in August of 1969. The two met while Carol was a nursing student at St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing in New Bedford and Stephen a student at what was then Southeastern Massachusetts University. They had two children Lisa Gail Desroches Herbert (b. 25 September 1970) and Stephen Killian Desroches (b. 19 July 1974). Carol worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Morton Hospital and Stephen was principal of Martin Middle School in East Taunton until his retirement. Both Lisa and Stephen attended Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. Lisa was Miss Massachusetts 1992 (as well as Miss Taunton 1989 and Miss New Bedford 1992) and competed at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She then went on to attend the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. She now lives in Wadsworth, Ohio with her husband Joseph John Herbert, Jr. (b. 20 September 1969) and sons Jacob Desroches Herbert (b. 15 May 2000) and Jackson Beaumont Herbert (b. 10 February 2004). Stephen went on to attend the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and works as a journalist in Provincetown where he lives with his husband Peter Richard Donnelly (b. 18 January 1960).