Mary Jane Loso
Loso scholarship ~
a gift from the heart
By Laura Hancock
Media and publications writer
lhancock@eou.edu
LA GRANDE –The retired professor emeritus and namesake of Mary Jane Loso Hall died at age 84 in December, but Dr. Mary Jane Loso’s legacy will live on in the form of a $50,000 scholarship endowment in the Eastern Oregon University Foundation.
Following his aunt’s wishes, Keith Kragelund of Tacoma, Wa., presented the funds to EOU President Khosrow Fatemi and EOU Foundation President Carol Knopp April 14 during a reception in Loso’s honor in Nightingale Gallery.
EOU Photo
Loso's newphew, Keith Kragelund, presented the
endownment to EOU President Khosrow Fatemi and EOU
Foundation President, Carol Knopp, in Nightingale Gallery.
“She really treasured her time here at EOU,” said Kragelund, who spent much time with his aunt Mary Jane the last year of her life. “She had a ferocious intellect. She was the picture of grace, poise and peace to the end.”
EOU was a good fit for Loso. She took great pleasure in being able to walk everywhere, and became very involved with her students, making connections that would last a lifetime. The challenges of a small university attracted, energized and sustained her, said Kragelund.
Born in 1920 in St. Joseph, Minn., Loso grew up in an impoverished home devastated by the Great Depression. When Loso was still a young girl, her parents were faced with the decision of farming out she and her siblings to neighbors and relatives who could afford to take care of them. The sisters of the St. Benedict Convent took Loso in, and she thrived in their care. As a teenager, Loso was recognized as a child prodigy.
With the encouragement and support of the sisters at St. Benedict, Loso pursued the path of higher education and attained a bachelor’s degree in English and music from the College of St. Benedict. Loso went on to receive an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Minnesota. With a whole new life ahead of her, Loso began teaching in Minnesota at the high school level, then spent four years at the College of Great Falls. She came to EOU in 1957 and taught literature and composition until 1984. From 1969 to 1973, Loso chaired the English Department and the Division of Humanities from 1973 to 1978.
Kragelund believes that his aunt Mary Jane set aside the scholarship money to ensure that someone just like her would have the same opportunities in life she had. Growing up in abject poverty helped define not only what she became, but guided her career choices and encouraged her potential, Krageland said. This will be a part of her legacy.
“She always remembered what it was like to be the kid in the class wearing hand-me-downs,” said Kragelund. “She was a living example of the value of education.”
The Mary Jane Loso Scholarship will be available each year for a student with financial need, starting with the 2006-2007 academic year.
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