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Lloyd-Jones, Jean (1929-)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1929-

Biography

Jean Lloyd-Jones, legislator, feminist, and peace activist, was born October 14, 1929, daughter of Lucille Thurston and John Emerson Hall. She attended the University of New Mexico from 1946 to 1949 and in 1951 received a B.S. in English from Northwestern University. She married Richard Lloyd-Jones of Mason City, Iowa, that year and moved with him to Iowa City, where he was a graduate student in English. He joined the faculty of the University of Iowa Department of English the following year. Jean Lloyd-Jones earned an M.A. in history from the University of Iowa in 1971.

Jean Lloyd-Jones' lifelong involvement in civic and political affairs began in 1955 when she joined the League of Women Voters (LWV). She served as president of the Iowa City LWV in the 1960s and as state president from 1971 to 1976. She was elected president of the Iowa City United Nations Association (UNA) in 1965 and again in 1967, and served as state president of the UNA from 1971-1975. She was appointed to the state planning committee of Iowa 2000, a commission established by Iowa's Governor Robert D. Ray in 1976 to assess needs and planning priorities for the future, and served as program coordinator for Iowa 2000. Lloyd-Jones chaired the Iowa International Women's Year Meeting in 1977 and was elected as a delegate to the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas the same year. She was appointed to the Governor's Task Force on Government Ethics in 1977. In the 1970s, Lloyd-Jones was very active in the effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Lloyd-Jones has filled paid positions in the state Democratic party, worked as party precinct committeeperson, and was on the staffs of various political campaigns. She worked on the campaign of Congressman Ed Mezvinsky in the 1970s. In 1976 Lloyd-Jones undertook her first (unsuccessful) campaign for State Legislature, and in 1978 she again ran, this time successfully. Lloyd-Jones served as State Representative from 1978 until 1989 and as a State Senator from 1989 until 1994. Lloyd-Jones conceived, recruited board members, and served as president of the Iowa Peace Institute, a non-profit organization established in 1986 to "promote non-violent resolution of conflict through conflict management, global education, international development, and world trade." The Institute closed its doors after eighteen years and donated its assets to Grinnell College for the purpose of establishing a Peace Studies Program. In 2010, Lloyd-Jones and Republican state senator Maggie Tinsman founded the organization 50/50 in 2020, which sought to equalize gender representation in elected offices in Iowa by the year 2020. Though the organization did not meet all of its goals at the state level, the period of its operation did see several women elected to federal political offices from Iowa for the first time. As part of the Hard Won, Not Done commemoration campaign celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment in 2020, 50/50 in 2020 leaders organized an oral history project to interview Iowa women who had served as state legislators. This project led to an ongoing collaboration with the University of Iowa Libraries and the oral histories are now preserved in the Iowa Women's Archives (IWA 1278). Lloyd-Jones served as one of main organizers and the principal interviewer for that project.

Found in 140 Collections and/or Records:

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame records

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0174
Abstract

Established by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women in 1975 to recognize the contributions of Iowa women.

Dates: 1975-2010

Jean Lloyd-Jones papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0066
Abstract

State legislator from Iowa City and president of the Iowa Peace Institute.

Dates: 1964-2021

Kathleen Wood Laurila papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0458
Abstract

Iowa activist involved in the peace movement as well energy conservation and environmental protection coalitions.

Dates: 1956-1999

League of Women Voters, Iowa records

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0020
Abstract State-level branch of the national non-partisan League of Women Voters which seeks to promote political responsibility through educating and informing the public on selected governmental issues and promoting action on those issues. Arrangement 1971 Accession, 1917 to 1991 (boxes 1-61) Local leagues, 1939-1970 (boxes 1-5,19-32) Administrative, 1920-1968 (boxes 6-16) National, 1934-1966 (boxes 16-17) Iowa Voter, 1943-2001 (box 18) Topical, 1938-1972 (boxes 32-42, 45-58, 60-61) Histories, 1917-1969 (boxes 42-44, 59) Voter service, 1947-1966 (box 44) 1975 Accession, 1938-1973 (boxes 62-92) Local leagues, 1968-1971 (boxes 62-67) Administrative, 1940-1973 (boxes 67-79) Topical, 1938-1971 (boxes 79-83, 84-91) Voter service, 1948-1969 (boxes 83-84) 1981 Accession Local leagues, 1928-1979 (boxes 93-100) 1984 Accession, 1955-1980 (boxes 100-107) Topical, 1955-1980 (boxes...
Dates: 1917-2001

Liddell-Westefeld Congressional Candidate Oral History Collection

 Collection
Identifier: msC0864
Abstract

Interviews with eleven candidates who ran unsuccessfuly for Congress, conducted by an undergraduate history major at the University of Iowa in Spring 2007. Includes audiocassette tapes and transcriptions of the interviews.

Dates: 1978-2004

Linda Yanney papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0413
Abstract

Iowa City feminist and champion of LGBT rights.

Dates: 1948-2000