Lois Jean Listebarger Humphrey ’51

Iowa’s first Teacher of the Year, Lois Jean Listebarger Humphrey ’51, died at age 92 on Oct. 4, 2021, in Ames, Iowa.

Humphrey majored in elementary education and was elected to Mortar Board and Phi Beta Kappa at Cornell. She taught second grade in Newton, Iowa, then moved to Ames and taught at Welch and Edwards elementary schools from 1953 to 1961. She was one of very few elementary teachers in Iowa who taught Spanish as part of her classroom curriculum. During the 1957-58 academic year, she was named Iowa Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year, traveling to Washington, D.C., to be honored by President Dwight Eisenhower at the White House. 

She was involved in the United Methodist Church throughout her life. As a college student and young adult, she participated in the Methodist Youth Caravan Movement, serving in Alabama and Iowa and as a member of the national training staff. She chaired and served on many Methodist Church committees, taught Sunday school, played in the bell choir, was a senior high youth director, and served on the National Methodist Committee on Religion and Public Education. 

She also actively participated in school and community affairs, serving as president of the Edwards Elementary and Welch Junior High PTAs, the Ames Volunteer Center Board, and the board of the Ames International Orchestra Festival Guild.

She is survived by her husband, Bob, her two children, and five grandchildren.