Lois Coon
is honored with a Brick from Colleen Kelly Johnston, Fern M. Van Gieson, Marge Zakoura Vaughan, and Peg Y. Vines.
How to overview the life of this brilliant, clever, frugal, verbal woman with
the self described "whim of iron"? A woman who proudly never had a car, could
for years outwalk friends of any age and had, at every age, a voracious thirst
for knowledge and an encyclopedic memory. She was immensely concerned about
social issues at all levels and she worked hard to foster change. Her stated
wish was that "instead of being known as a yellow dog Democrat I would like to
be above all an egalitarian."
Lois Coon was born on August 23, 1902 on a farm near Columbus, Kansas. She died
on September 22, 1999 in her own back garden. Lois learned to read at age three
and then when old enough attended country school. To go to high school she had
to "room and board" in town. Following graduation she taught all grades in
rural Missouri where her family had moved in 1919. Having saved enough money
she obtained her BS degree from Kansas State Teacher's College in Pittsburg, KS
in 1930.
To quote Lois, "I have always been a feminist because I survived growing up with
six brothers but mainly because of my gentle mother." Her father felt Lois
"knew enough" when she completed three years of high school, but her mother
stood behind her in her determination to go to college. After getting her
degree she taught elementary school again in Missouri and then in Anthony, KS.
Here in Wichita where she moved in the fall of 1938, Lois taught public school
primary grades until she retired in 1967. Lois said that she had wanted to be a
journalist but that when she saw the children's need and their eagerness, she
was pleased to be where she was and had enjoyed her profession.
1940 was a banner year. By attending three summer sessions, Lois received her MA
from Columbia University. She also helped found the Kappa Chapter of Delta
Kappa Gamma, national educational fraternity, which she considered a pivotal
organization in the struggle for women's rights. And she bought her home at 125
North Erie.
An excellent cook, meticulous housekeeper and expert gardener, she not only
gloried in the care of her property but in the conservation of the environment;
"walking lightly on the earth" was one of her goals. Lois loved to travel and
learn about other cultures and she literally covered the globe. Many trips were
on-site seminars and/or peace conferences. By the time Lois came to Wichita she
was already deeply interested in national and international affairs.
As a teacher, she was not allowed to actively participate in politics but from
the 1940s through the 1960s, she eagerly provided leadership to the Kansas
Institute of International Relations sponsored in Wichita by the American
Friends Service Committee, and the American Association for the United Nations
of which she was a local founder. Lois said her peace activism was spurred by
her mother's influence during World War I and, to quote, "the bombing of
Hiroshima made an all time pacifist of me." Through that period she was also
active in AAUW because of its strong support of women's issues and was a
co-founder of the Wichita Chapter.
After her retirement, Lois became active in Democratic politics, in Common
Cause, Kansas Women's Political Caucus and the Stop Wolf Creek anti-nuclear
movement of the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, she focused on Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom, League of Women Voters and the
Democratic Party. She was honored by the Democratic Party locally and the peace
community, both locally and nationally.
All her life, Lois retained her fierce determination and independence and her
strong sense of responsibility to the world. She asked that at death her body
be given to the KU Medical School for study, that way she said, "I can go on
teaching." Indeed an extraordinary woman!
September 3, 2000
