Members of Mountain View Friends Meeting were shocked to learn of the sudden death of Kris Louden on June 14th of last year. A birthright Quaker, graduate of Earlham College, married under the care of Twin Cities Friends Meeting, and mainstay of Denver Friends for more than 40 years, Kris was a consummate Quaker.
She was born to parents who were both social workers, Agnita Greisen and Charles Fudge Wright. Three younger sibs followed, Gavin, Robin and Lisa, and the family lived in the greater NYC area until moving to Minneapolis when Kris was 12. Growing up in Minnesota, Kris was a strong swimmer and a good tennis player. She biked, canoed, sailed, ice-skated, hiked and rode horses; she studied piano and sang.
At Eariham College Kris studied history, sang, and participated in a sit-in at Woolworth's luncheon counter, which quickly established the right of people of color to be served. Also at Earlham she met Richard Owen Louden; they were married upon graduation from Earlham. They celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on the day before Kris died.
While Dick pursued graduate studies in geology at Indiana University, Kris earned her Master's in Library Science there. They lived in Bowling Green, OH, Houston, TX, and New Orleans, LA, before settling in Lakewood, CO in 1974. Kris worked as a librarian in each city. At the University of Colorado Medical School Library she rose to head the Circulation Department, supervising staff in most of the library's daily interactions with the public. She had great expertise in finding information for medical researchers as well as students, and continued some work in the library well after official retirement.
Kris and Dick had two children, Michael, now an attorney in Seattle with wife Diana and daughter Emily, who attends Grinnell College; Rebecca (Becka), who is employed by the City of Aspen, Colorado.
Kris became a Master Gardener and spent many hours in her garden. She was a birder, particularly skilled at identifying birds by their songs. She never lost her interest in calligraphy. She studied French, and visited France often. She studied Japanese, the better to host Japanese exchange students. She took voice lessons, sang with the Colorado Choir and sang solos in recitals. She could surprise you at any moment with a song lyric or a long poem committed to memory. She was ever a warm and trusted presence in the Meeting, serving on many committees and responsibly clerking them. She and Dick traveled widely, here and abroad, often with friends or to visit them.
At the time of her death, Kris was active and involved, going to the gym, taking a French class, working on Meeting committees, singing in her choir, working in her garden, planning future trips. Her loss, due to an aortic aneurysm, affected the community deeply. The Death and Memorials Committee, deeply grieving her loss as one of its key members, conducted a memorial meeting for her on July 6. The service filled the Meeting House to overflowing. All three of her siblings were able to attend. Many grieving members of her Colorado Choir sang several works, including a favorite song of Kris'. Refreshments afterward included an abundance of pastries from Kris' favorite Danish bakery. A Peace rose bush will be planted in the Meeting House garden in memory of a central figure in the Mountain View community, who lived life to the fullest.