Virginia Rice of St. Paul wore this nurse's cape when she served with the Red Cross during World War I. Born in 1867, Rice grew up in a privileged household as the tenth of eleven children. Her father was Edmund Rice, who moved to St. Paul with his young wife Anna in 1849. Edmund Rice served in the territorial legislature and later became president of three railroad companies. He also served in the state legislature and the U.S. Congress.

After Edmund died in 1889, his wife Anna and daughter Virginia lived with Virginia's siblings. In 1910, she was working as a nurse at City Hospital, which was likely excellent training for her time in the Red Cross during the war. After the war, she continued to work as a nurse and died in 1944.