Kathryn M. Elwers

Madison Public Library Foundation recently received a gift from the estate of Kathryn Elwers. We appreciate and acknowledge Kathryn’s gift with this article by Kathryn’s niece, Patricia Carroll.

Kathryn, known to her family as Katie and to her colleagues and fellow volunteers as Kay, grew up in Neenah, WI, just about a block from the Neenah Public Library. She was the youngest of four siblings, all of whom made good use of the nearby library. Kathryn graduated from Neenah High School in 1945 and Lawrence College in 1949. At Lawrence she majored in history, minored in economics and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Kathryn received her M.S. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1950.

After graduation, Kathryn worked briefly in a bank in Milwaukee before being employed as a history teacher by the Milwaukee Public School System for eight years. After a European travel break and a short stint as an employee in a stock brokerage, she returned to Madison and was employed until her retirement in 1986 as an Information Development Specialist for the Wisconsin Occupational Information System in the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations.

While residing in Madison, Kathryn became an active member of the Friends of the Madison Public Library as well as a volunteer at the Badger chapter of the Red Cross and a member of the board of the Women’s Medical Foundation. Kathryn also worked tirelessly for the pro-choice cause as a member of Planned Parenthood and NARL as well as a pro-choice picketer. In addition she was an active volunteer for and a member of the Democratic Party.

For relaxation Kathryn read, bowled and traveled on many opera tours both in the United States and Europe. She also traveled to Africa where she developed an affinity for hippos and later  became a collector of them.

An avid reader, Kathryn amassed a large personal library of books on opera, women’s issues and history.