The Lois Craig Playbook

August 17, 2024

By La Crosse Community Foundation

Much-loved coach’s influence will impact students forever

Lois Craig was a coach on and off the field, training students to give their best in the gym, classroom and life. With a career as vibrant as the red lipstick she famously wore, Lois’s path from a young girl in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to an influential educator and philanthropist who never forgot her roots will have a tangible, lasting impact on countless coaches, teachers and artists to come.

Born in 1937, Lois’s early life was marked by personal challenges. Her mother died when she was 12, and her father died two days before Christmas when she was a high school senior, leaving her with four much older brothers. It was a loss that proved her remarkable resiliency.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 1960 with a major in physical education, Lois embarked on a teaching and coaching career that would span nearly four decades. Her first eight years at Neenah High School laid the groundwork for what would become a pioneering role in women’s sports at Point Loma High School in San Diego, where she taught for 31 years.

She was co-founder of the High School Sports Association Board and California Interscholastic Federation tournament director for boys’ and girls’ volleyball. Additionally, she served on the Hall of Champions High School coaching selection committee and wrote the Athletic Handbook for San Diego city schools. She’ll also be inducted this year into the Point Loma High School Hall of Fame.

More than a great teacher

But Lois was much more than a great teacher; she was a mentor, friend, and family member to many.

“She was devoted to her ‘10,000 students,'” says Judy Rusch, Lois’s trustee, former student, and friend. “She had a knack for making everyone feel important, valued, and heard. There wasn’t a kid who walked past her that she didn’t have something nice to say to them. She took no nonsense, but she did it with such grace that even the high school boys would do whatever she asked.”

After retiring in 2000, Lois continued to touch lives through community involvement and fostering connections. Moving to the Lantern Crest Senior Community, she quickly became known as the “Mayor of Lantern Crest,” a nod to her charm, love for people, and get-it-done attitude. Beyond her social engagements, Lois pursued her passions for reading and photography and remained an avid supporter of women’s sports in California.

Also, Lois was frugal — extremely frugal — which led to her accumulating significant savings over her lifetime. She had plans for those savings. Before she passed in February 2023, Lois deliberately and thoughtfully established a $2 million bequest to support scholarships at UWL for women pursuing careers in biology and physical education and at Western Technical College for women studying graphic design. According to Judy, this decision was rooted in Lois’s own experiences and the influence of her brother, a successful graphic artist in Chicago.

Leaving a multifaceted legacy

Lois’s legacy is multifaceted. It’s found in the scholarships that bear her name, the countless lives she touched through her teaching and coaching, and the standards of excellence, kindness, and perseverance she embodied.

“She was not one for the spotlight and probably wouldn’t want a fuss made about her. She’d just be glad she could help,” says Judy. “She’s probably looking down, smiling, and saying, ‘I’m glad I could do it.'”

Lois had a tough beginning but proved that you can do anything you set your mind on, says Judy. “Looking back, she was really happy with her life. She had a lot of gratitude.”

Now, the gratitude of generations of scholarship recipients, forever impacted by Lois’ generosity and vision, will be a living tribute to a woman whose playbook extended far beyond sports, shaping futures with every act of kindness and every lesson taught.