I r i s S o c i e t y o f A u s t i n
Dana at the April 11, 2004 Show, standing in front of her entry "Laura Louise," awarded the Best Louisiana of the show
Remembering Dana Lovvorn
On March 20, 2005, the Iris Society of Austin lost one of its most cherished long-time members. The earliest available membership records indicate that Dana Rae Lovvorn had been a regular member in good standing of our society since September 1994. She was consistently a tireless worker who loved irises and all aspects of iris culture. This tiny, seemingly fragile woman was stronger and more courageous than any of us can imagine. She had very firm convictions on almost every subject and never hesitated to stand up, speak out, and express her opinions in a passionate voice.
Dana Lovvorn taught middle-school English for nearly twenty years and inspired countless students, especially in the field of creative writing.
On March 20, 2005, the Iris Society of Austin lost one of its most cherished long-time members. The earliest available membership records indicate that Dana Rae Lovvorn had been a regular member in good standing of our society since September 1994. She was consistently a tireless worker who loved irises and all aspects of iris culture. This tiny, seemingly fragile woman was stronger and more courageous than any of us can imagine. She had very firm convictions on almost every subject and never hesitated to stand up, speak out, and express her opinions in a passionate voice.
Dana Lovvorn taught middle-school English for nearly twenty years and inspired countless students, especially in the field of creative writing.
Dana took early retirement due to an on-going battle with scleroderma, but this debilitating disease could not slow her down. She did all kinds of volunteer work and put her writing skills to excellent use, authoring the highly acclaimed book Scleroderma: Surviving a Seventeen-Year Itch, which earned her the prestigious Barbara Jordan Award.
Dana organized marathons to benefit the North Austin Medical Center and the Scleroderma Society of America. Long after her diagnosis she was actively refereeing her favorite sport volleyball at local tournaments. In 1984 she attended the Olympic Games in Los Angeles just to see the volleyball games, and on a cold day in 2002 she herself triumphantly carried the Olympic Torch down Congress Avenue in Austin.
Dana took great pleasure in her irises and loved to share them with friends, neighbors, and fellow ISA members. She always had her camera on hand and served as the ISA Historian for many years. She meticulously kept photo albums of club activities and always had duplicate photos to give to individual Society members. Dana particularly beamed at the annual iris shows when she had one of her irises on the Head Table, and at the 2004 Show she had two entries on the Head Table: Best Louisiana / Best Yellow -- "Laura Louise," and Best Spuria -- "Dawn Candle."
Dana loved poetry and a number of her poems were published in the Iris Austin Newsletter. She may not be with us any longer in body, but she stays with us in spirit and in her own words. Dana, we miss you.
Poems by Dana Lovvorn:
The Ugly Duckling
An Iris Well-Named
Samurai Warrior
Musings before the First Cup of Coffee
Pandora’s Purple
I. Pallida vs T. Rex
But Why Name an Iris Baboon Bottom?
Nature’s Wordless Symmetry
Dana organized marathons to benefit the North Austin Medical Center and the Scleroderma Society of America. Long after her diagnosis she was actively refereeing her favorite sport volleyball at local tournaments. In 1984 she attended the Olympic Games in Los Angeles just to see the volleyball games, and on a cold day in 2002 she herself triumphantly carried the Olympic Torch down Congress Avenue in Austin.
Dana took great pleasure in her irises and loved to share them with friends, neighbors, and fellow ISA members. She always had her camera on hand and served as the ISA Historian for many years. She meticulously kept photo albums of club activities and always had duplicate photos to give to individual Society members. Dana particularly beamed at the annual iris shows when she had one of her irises on the Head Table, and at the 2004 Show she had two entries on the Head Table: Best Louisiana / Best Yellow -- "Laura Louise," and Best Spuria -- "Dawn Candle."
Dana loved poetry and a number of her poems were published in the Iris Austin Newsletter. She may not be with us any longer in body, but she stays with us in spirit and in her own words. Dana, we miss you.
Poems by Dana Lovvorn:
The Ugly Duckling
An Iris Well-Named
Samurai Warrior
Musings before the First Cup of Coffee
Pandora’s Purple
I. Pallida vs T. Rex
But Why Name an Iris Baboon Bottom?
Nature’s Wordless Symmetry
