From therapy to the arts, a life of service
A RATHER perceptive friend once described Lois Lawn as a person at one with her community.
It spoke to the Dunedin woman’s deep desire to help others, and to use all her time and talents for other people, traits which were at the heart of her intense energy and resourcefulness.
Mrs Lawn, who died in Cromwell on September 29, aged 88, made a huge contribution to her primary field, speech language therapy, over half a century, touching the lives of many families in Dunedin and Otago.
Known to many of the pupils at George St School as the
‘‘little greyhaired speech lady’’, she was part of an innovative group of therapists in Dunedin.
Later in her career, she served on numerous committees, particularly related to the establishment of the bachelor of speech language therapy degree.
She was president of the New Zealand Speechlanguage Therapists’ Association in 198082 and reelected in 198284. She led the first nationally based executive in Wellington, remained on the national body until 1986, twice representing New Zealand at international conferences, and was made a life member.
Lois Edith Ellen Powell was born in Taranaki on January 21, 1932. Her childhood was marred by tragedy.
Her father, Ronald Llewellyn Powell, had come to New Zealand some years before under the English Public Schools Farm Cadet Scheme and was farming in Waitara with a young family.
Tragically, he was drowned at a river mouth while his wife Jessie and family watched in horror. Jessie raised her two children by herself. They grew up wasting nothing and learning independence very rapidly.
Bright, independent, and socially accomplished, Lois chose not to go to university because of the financial burden she believed it would place on her family.
As teachers in training were then paid an allowance, she chose to leave school — against the advice of her principal — and become a teacher, and after two years of training was chosen for a thirdyear specialist course in speech therapy.
Mrs Lawn later recalled the early days of her career.
‘‘I began . . . as sole therapist for all of Taranaki when cars were certainly not provided by the employing Education Board, or indeed even thought of as being necessary for therapists.
‘‘So, I got around the province the best way I could — by public transport, be it bus, tram, school bus or riding my bike, or walking.
‘‘Principals did not seem to mind having to leave their schools to pick me up from the main road where I had been deposited by public bus, and return me to the road again for my return journey.
‘‘In those days, when toll calls were regarded as the very height of decadence, my nearest speech therapist colleague was in Whanganui, and we kept in touch with a round robin, where gossip, professional news and views, and any therapy ideas were shared.
‘‘We were very much alone in our work with noone to provide supervision, and hence we established an unwritten code where honesty and integrity were paramount — a code I believe I maintained throughout my working life. We also learned to be independent, resourceful, and innovative, and we earned status in the community.’’
She married Owen Lawn in New Plymouth on January 16, 1960. In 1972, the couple and their three children settled in Dunedin, a city she came to love.
In the South, she threw herself into various causes with immense energy.
She was actively involved with the Fortune Theatre for 30 years, both with its members society and on the board, its governing trust, for a dozen years.
Mrs Lawn’s chief contribution to the theatre was as a fundraiser. She was convener of the costume hire scheme, a source of substantial funds for many years. She also organised music halls, garden tours and historic home visits, and set up the sale of 50 Grahame Sydney lithographs, which became very much in demand.
Theatre was in her blood; she enjoyed everything about it, and she put her heart and soul into supporting its standing as an art form in Dunedin.
Later in life, she played the role of Mrs Dickson in Out of the
Blue, the film based on the 1990 Aramoana tragedy.
Mrs Lawn was on the council of the Otago Art Society for 12 years, president for three, and made a life member. She organised several retrospective exhibitions including the works of Els Noordof and Roy Dickison, and a selection of works by past presidents in 2000.
She served on the provincial executive of Girl Guides, and was district and divisional commissioner for 10 years. She was also a president, coach and life member of the Kiwi Swim Club, and a joint life member of the Friends of the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra.
She was a member of the Vestry of St Paul’s Cathedral for eight years, and on the chapter for six. From 19952003, she convened all social events and during that time instigated the
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race in the Octagon.
Being made life member of so many organisations was indicative of her commitment to them.
‘‘When you gave a job to Lois Lawn, it got done’’ was a common refrain.
Mrs Lawn’s immense contribution to the community was recognised in 2005 when she was named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours. She had earlier been named the Dunedin City Council’s citizen of the year, and a Paul Harris Fellow.
She is survived by Owen, her husband of 60 years, children Rachel, Nicholas and Jennifer, and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral at 2pm on November 28.
— Supplied