The American Mother of 1943, annually selected (since 1935) by the American Mothers Committee of the Golden Rule Foundation, was UT alumna Mary Moore Dabney Thomson (1886–1980), daughter of former UT President Charles Dabney. The women students at Western College, Oxford, Ohio, where she was president from 1941 to 1945, nominated her for the honor. She studied at Horace Mann School in New York City from 1902 to 1903, the University of Tennessee from 1903 to 1904, and the University of Cincinnati from 1904 to 1906, as well as abroad.
Prior to being named president of Western College, she served on the board of trustees for the Cincinnati Community Chest and as president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati YWCA. Thomson also served on the national board of the YWCA. She resigned the presidency for reasons of health and family, after which she served as chairperson of the board of trustees of Western College. She was awarded the honorary degree of doctor of letters by Beaver College.