Lois Clark McCoy (1920 – 2016)
Lois was born Lois Clark October 1, 1920.
A graduate of Skidmore College with a Bachelors of Science in 1942. She married Dr. Herbert McCoy and had 7 children. An avid archer and outdoors-woman, she was active in the Sierra Club when she became interested in Search and Rescue. In 1968 she helped form the San Diego Mountain Rescue team, was an officer of SDMRT, and participated in many exercises and operations. Lois moved on to the national level and was executive secretary of the National Association for Search and Rescue. In 2002 the NASAR Service award was renamed the Lois Clark McCoy Service Award in recognition of her many years of service to Wild-land and Urban Search and Rescue. From 1982 through 1987 she served as South County Emergency Coordinator and Operations Officer for the County of Santa Barbara California. After leaving public service Lois became interested in Urban Search and Rescue and co-founded the National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue. She served as CEO & president of NIUSR until 2012 when she retired. She developed one more program, Walking Drum, which was a social media based Think Tank for Readiness, Response, and Recovery. She had a second retirement in 2014.
Lois received recognition for her work and the work of her teams. This included the US Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service 2009.
Lois Clark McCoy passed away September 19, 2016. She passed peacefully with her chin up and her boots on.
Please join Lois’ family and friends in Santa Barbara California on Saturday October 1st (Lois’ Birthday) for a Wake at Harry’s Plaza Cafe (http://www.harryssb.com/ ) starting at 5PM. On Sunday October 2nd 11:30 am , there will be a “Celebration of Life” at the outdoor amphitheater at Godric Grove, in Elings Park, followed by a reception on the Grove Terrace. http://www.elingspark.org/
In lieu of flowers please send a donation to The American Red Cross Disaster Services or volunteer your time with a charity of your choice.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Lois Clark McCoy, WB6MME, was quite a woman. I remember her well. The last time I saw Lois was at the 85th birthday of Sig Wathne, W6LGK, which was around 5 years ago. She asked me how ARES was doing in that she felt a kinship to it as she had been a licensed Amateur Radio operator for many years and felt that the work of ARES and Search and Rescue were very much related.
It was good to see her. I could see that the years were taking their toll on her and we wished each other all the best. Lois coined the phrase, “Combine a love of exploration with the desire to help others, and you wind up with a lifetime career that never gets dull.” If memory serves me correctly, Lois was the Secretary of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club in the year 1991 when Jack Goldsworthy, KA6EPF, was our President. She did a wonderful job for us in that position.
With fond memories of Lois,
Darryl Widman, KF6DI