Fern Chamberlain was the first person to earn a master’s degree in social work in South Dakota, according to this article in the Argus Leader.

Chamberlain, who died at age 99 on Monday, was chief of research and statistics at the State Department of Social Welfare for almost 30 years starting in 1937. She established an assistance-by-telephone service now known as the Helpline and was instrumental in setting up the Food Pantry in Sioux Falls.

She was also one of the first if not the first single adoptive parent in the state, the Argus Leader reported.

 SocialWorkersSpeak.org offers its condolences to Chamberlain’s family, friends and associates.