An accomplished citizen activist in Athens, Ohio, Lois Deimel Whealey previously excelled as a teacher for nearly 10 years. She began her career as a fifth grade teacher at the Swayne School, now the Owyhee Combined School, in Owyhee, Nevada, from 1952 to 1953 before going on to teach seventh grade with the Fort Knox Dependent Schools in Kentucky from 1955 to 1956. Ms. Whealey went on to serve as a teacher of adult basic education for the U.S. Air Force in Oxford, England, from 1956 to 1957, a sixth grade teacher for the Amerman Elementary School in Northville, Michigan, from 1957 to 1958, and an eighth grade teacher of English and social studies for Slauson Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1958 to 1959.
A part-time instructor at Ohio University from 1966 to 1968, Ms. Whealey was active as an administrative assistant for a Humanities Conference in Athens from 1974 to 1976. During this time, she was also a part-time instructor at Ohio University in 1975. Returning to the role of administrative assistant for the Humanities Conference in 1983, she was later involved with Rural Action as an AmeriCorps VISTA from 1996 to 1998. Furthermore, Ms. Whealey has been a contributor of articles to professional journals.
Having been active with a number of civic and charitable organizations over the course of her career, Ms. Whealey has contributed to such organizations as the National Volunteer Caregiving Network, Organize! Ohio, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and the Ohio Alliance for the Environment, among many others. Active with Ohio Women, Inc., for many years, she has been on the board of directors since 1995 and has served as secretary since 1997. From 2006 to 2019, she had a weekly program with the Athens Community Television, Inc., titled “Women Today and Yesterday.” To remain abreast of developments in her field, Ms. Whealey has maintained involvement with the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters of Athens County, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Lambda Theta and Democracy Over Corporations.
First recognized with the Unsung Unitarian Universalist Award from the Ohio-Meadville District of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1984, Ms. Whealey went on to be honored by the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond with a Thanks Badge in 1986 and named a Woman of Achievement in 1987. Going on to be presented with a How-To Award from the Educational Press Association of America in 1990, she was the recipient of the Donna Chen Women’s Equity Award from Ohio University in 1994 and a Community Service Award from the Athens County Community Service Council in 1998, as well as being named a Peacemaker by the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network that same year. In 2002, Ms. Whealey was named an Outstanding Feminist by the Athens Herstory Celebration, and received the Award for Individual Contribution Over a Lifetime from Ohio Alliance for the Environment and the Spirit Award from the League of Women Voters of Athens County.
Since then, Ms. Whealey was honored with the Social Justice Award from the United Campus Ministry at Ohio University in 2008 and the Nora Price Award from the Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio in 2009. More recently, she was celebrated with the Social Justice Award for Contributions Over a Lifetime from the United Campus Ministry in 2016 and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In light of all her accomplishments, Ms. Whealey has previously been featured in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in the Midwest and Who’s Who in the World.
A proud Democrat, Ms. Whealey began her education with a Bachelor of Arts in history from Stanford University in 1951. Following this accomplishment, she went on to receive a Master of Education from the University of Michigan in 1955. After spending a number of years working in the field, Ms. Whealey returned to her education at Ohio University, where she obtained a Master of Arts in political science in 1975 and a master’s degree in social science in 2007.
Born in New York to Edgar Bertram Deimel and Lois Hatch Washburn and raised in Nevada, Ms. Whealey has been happily married to Robert Howard Whealey since 1954. She is the proud mother of three children, Richard William, David John and Alice Ann. She is also the doting grandmother of four grandchildren: Michael Robert, Lana, Alice Anne and Rhys. In her free time, Ms. Whealey enjoys studying genealogy.