Noun, Louise Rosenfield 1908-2002

NOUN, ROSENFIELD

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 11/1/2012 at 21:07:49

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; Aug. 29, 2002

LOUISE NOUN

Louise Rosenfield Noun, 94, a Grinnell College graduate for whom the college's program in women's studies is named, died Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Iowa Jewish Senior Life Center in Des Moines. The death has been ruled a suicide by drug overdose.

A memorial gathering is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Iowa State Historical Building in Des Moines. Burial was at Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, with Dunn's Funeral Home of Des Moines in charge of arrangements. Ms. Noun requested that there be no funeral service.

She was born March 7, 1908, in Des Moines and was a 1925 graduate of Roosevelt High School. She received her B.A. degree from Grinnell College, attending her junior year at Wellesley College. She earned an M.A. degree in art history from Radcliff/Harvard in 1933. She briefly attended Drake University Law School.

Ms. Noun served on various boards and committees related to the arts and humanities. With Mary Louise Smith, she was co-founder of the Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa. She was founder and president of the Chrysalis Foundation, a fund for women, and a founding member of the Iowa Women's Political Caucus.

She also was a founding member of the Des Moines chapter of the National Organization for Women and served as president of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union from 1964 to 1972. She also served as a board member for the American Civil Liberties Union.

She was a founding member of the Des Moines chapter of the League of Women Voters, serving as president of the chapter from 1948 to 1949. She was elected to the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1981.

Grinnell College awarded Ms. Noun an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 1973. She also held honorary doctorates from Cornell College and Drake University. She had served as a lecturer at numerous Iowa schools, including Grinnell College.

Ms. Noun was the author of several books and catalogs related to the arts and women's issues.

The Louise R. Noun Program in Women's Studies was established at Grinnell in 1986.

Surviving is one grandson. Among those preceding her in death was her brother, Joseph Rosenfield, former Grinnell College trustee and benefactor.

Memorial contributions in Ms. Noun's name may be made to the Chrysalis Foundation, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union or the Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa.