~By Robbie Snow

LOIS LEINKRAM

Lois (Lundy) Leinkram has been an international traveler since she was a baby.

Born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) she has been on the move ever since. The oldest of three children, Lois was born into a family of Methodists, but that too moved with the postings her father, a Foreign Service officer, had over the years, sometimes Methodist and sometimes the ecumenical church in the country they were stationed.

The Lundy family moved a lot. Lois was almost 3 years old when they moved to Saigon where her brother was born. They were then evacuated when her brother was 2 months old from Saigon. Her father stayed alone for another year. The family moved back to the Washington area where her sister was born, until 1969, when they went to New Delhi, India.

The time in New Delhi was Lois’ favorite. The family stayed there for almost four years. Lois was in both the school and church choirs. Music and singing have always been a constant for her in her travel. Spending 3rd through 6th grades at the American International School was a very happy time for Lois. But soon after the start of 7th grade, the family once again packed up and moved to Iran.

Although Tehran was a more modern city it was also scary in that the country was going through some upheaval. The family moved back to Arlington after Tehran, where Lois attended and graduated from Yorktown High School. It was in Arlington that Lois joined the Youth Group at Little Falls Presbyterian because many of her friends were going there.

After high school Lois went to the University of Virginia where she studied (surprise) Foreign Affairs with an emphasis on South Asia.

During her time at UVA, Lois’ family was posted to Seoul, Korea, where she visited them. In 1984, she met Mark Leinkram through a mutual friend. In 1985, they were married. In 1991 while looking for a preschool for Amy (their oldest) , Lois found Knox. Daughters Sara and Carrie also attended Knox Preschool. They had been living in Broyhill Park since May 1987. Lois did hold down a full time job until finding day care for two young girls became too complicated.

Although Mark is Jewish, Lois was looking for a church in the community to put down roots. Knox provided that through the preschool and the choir. Music has always been important to Lois, and it was she who found Knox’s current choir director, Bob Fuqua.

Lois has become a great support to Knox. Not only through her participation in the choir and on the Preschool Board, but she is also sharing the church secretary job with Linda Rice-Johnston and Traci Whitmoyer, an arrangement which is working well for all concerned.

Besides working in the office and taking care of her family, Lois says she also feels like a veterinary technician. She is the proud owner of five guinea pigs, one dog, one hermit crab, and one fish. But she still finds time to cross stitch and read. She jogs regularly to keep fit and is a member of the Knox Book Club.

~~Thanks to Robbie Snow for the above interview.
Robbie will be reporting each month of the life of one of our Knox women.