Lois Van Valkenburgh

Lois Van Valkenburgh (1920–2002) was an American lobbyist and legislative aide most known for her political and civil rights activism. She produced Virginia's first voter's guide in the 1940s and worked in the women's poll tax repeal movement. She also pressed for school desegregation in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Active in many civic organizations, she founded and chaired the Alexandria Community Services Board for many years. She also served on the board of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and in the 1970s was a legislative aide to Delegate Mary Marshall.

Lois Van Valkenburgh
Warfield during her 1939 run for junior class president at the University of Wisconsin
Born
Lois Hooper Warfield

1920 (1920)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died2002 (aged 81–82)
Arlington, Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Occupationlobbyist, political activist, legislative aide
Years active1939–1998
Children3; including Blaire
RelativesJessie Jack Hooper (grandmother)

Early life and education

Lois Hooper Warfield was born in 1920 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lorna (née Hooper) and Louis Marshall Warfield.[1][2][3] Her father was a prominent physician and president of the Wisconsin Anti-Tuberculosis Association.[4] Her mother was a clubwoman and voice teacher.[5] Her maternal grandmother was Jessie Jack Hooper, a suffragette, clubwoman, and peace activist, who was one of the first women to run for elected office in Wisconsin.[6] Warfield grew up in Milwaukee and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1939, she ran for junior class president, causing a flurry of press articles about her wanting to become the prom king, because by tradition winner of the election served in that capacity.[7][8][9] Though she did not win the election, she was only the second woman to attempt a class presidency at the university and the first to run for junior class president.[7][9][10] She completed her education in 1941.[2]

Career

After graduation, Warfield moved to New York City and worked in the research department of a national business journal. While in New York, she met navy lieutenant Willard Van Valkenburgh, who was working for the news analyst firm of James S. Twohey.[2] They married in the fall of 1947 and moved to Washington, D.C. the following year.[2][11] Van Valkenburgh became involved with the League of Women Voters and helped produce Alexandria's first voter guide in the 1940s.[11] She was active in the women's poll tax repeal movement, directing the League's anti-poll tax committee in the 1950s.[12][13]

Van Valkenburgh was active in educational initiatives, and worked to integrate local schools. She served as president of the T. C. Williams High School Parent-Teacher Association twice in the 1960s and was on the board of the Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers. She volunteered for organizations providing assistance to people with developmental disabilities and addiction problems. She was on the board of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services for eight years and chaired the Alexandria Community Services Board, which she co-founded, for ten years.[11]

In the 1970s, Van Valkenburgh worked as a legislative aide to Delegate Mary Marshall at her office in Richmond. While at the capital, she worked as a lobbyist for UNICEF. Throughout her career, she received many honors and awards, including recognition in 1990, from the Virginia Association of Community Service Boards for her volunteer work; from the National Council of Community Mental Health Centers and from the Alexandria Commission on Women. In 1998, she was recognized by the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau for her contributions in fighting breast cancer and promoting senior services for aging community members.[11]

Death and legacy

Van Valkenburgh died from heart failure on December 24, 2002, at her home in Alexandria.[11] She was formally honored in 2003 by the Virginia House of Delegates for her community service.[14]

References

Citations
  1. U.S. Census 1930, p. 18B.
  2. The Capital Times 1947, p. 11.
  3. The Oshkosh Northwestern 1935, p. 4.
  4. The Oshkosh Northwestern 1938, p. 4.
  5. U.S. Census 1940, p. 6B.
  6. The Oshkosh Northwestern 1935, pp. 1, 4.
  7. The Wisconsin State Journal 1939, p. 17.
  8. The Portage Daily Register 1939, p. 1.
  9. The Capital Times 1939a, p. 1.
  10. The Capital Times 1939b, p. 3.
  11. The Washington Post 2002.
  12. Daffron 1954, p. 3.
  13. The Times-Dispatch 1953, p. 6.
  14. House of Delegates 2003.

Bibliography
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