I just received a phone call informing me that Loy LeFevre died over the weekend. She was in her nineties. I last saw her a couple of months ago at a libertarian supper club in LA, and she was as perky as ever.
Some fifty to sixty years ago, Bob LeFevre put together and taught one of the most focused inquiries into the nature of liberty. Each year, hundreds of people would come to the Freedom School (later Rampart College) for a two week course set in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. He brought to the campus various economists, philosophers, historians, and other clear thinkers to help flesh out what was to become a major part of modern libertarian thinking. Mises, “Baldy” Harper, Leonard Read, James J. Martin, Frank Chodorov, Bill Hutt, Rothbard, Arthur Ekirch, Rose Wilder Lane, among others, were occasional visitors and participants in this effort. Even the late Roy Childs got his early teaching experiences as a young teenager here. After attending the Freedom School as a student, I taught in this program for two years.
Loy was an indispensable part of the operation, being responsible for the housing and feeding of students, faculty, and staff. With all of the serious fine-tuning of philosophic principles that took place during those many years, there were always the highly-energized debates, discussions, arguing, life-boat hypotheticals, etc. Loy could always be counted upon to inject her musical talents, sense of humor, and lovely personality to help end the day — as well as the two week course — on a pleasant note. Any one who attended this school will tell you that, without Loy, this crucial contribution to libertarianism would have been difficult to have achieved.
One of the kindest characterizations of Loy was once offered by the late Dohn Lewis — who worked at the Freedom School for a number of years — who lovingly referred to her as “Tinkerbell.” Her sparkle — even into the ninth decade of her life — will be missed by all who knew her.
