Lois Cowles Harrison

Lois Cowles Harrison, 78 Lakeland - Lois Cowles Harrison, 78, of Lakeland, passed away, Thursday, June 06, 2013, due to heart failure at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Lois is survived by her husband, Homer Hooks, Lakeland, her three children: Mark Harrison, Englewood, FL; Patrick Harrison (Jodi), Sarasota, FL; Lois Eleanor Harrison, Ridgefield, CT, and her three grandchildren: Jennifer Harrison, Englewood, FL; Julian Minigiello and Niko Minigiello, Ridgefield, CT. Lois is also survived by her sister, Kate Cowles Nichols, Tierra Verde, FL, her brother, Gardner Cowles, III (Betty), Sag Harbor, NY, her three nieces: Elizabeth Strauss, Gwen Strauss, and Kate Long and her step sister, Virginia Cowles Schroth. She was predeceased by her son, Kent Harrison and her sister, Jane Cowles. Lois served as president of the League of Women Voters of Polk County and on the board of the National League of Women Voters where she chaired the Equal Rights Amendment Committee. In 1977 she served on the Florida Constitution Revision Commission and was on the Board of Directors of the Florida Endowment for the Humanities from 1989 to 1993. Lois was a trustee of the Cowles Charitable Trust, a member of the Florida Ethics Council, and a commissioner on the Florida Ethics Commission. She was active on the Lakeland Human Relations Council, Planned Parenthood, and the Spouse Abuse Advisory Board of the Peace River Center for Personal Development. The Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts was named for her. Along with her husband, Homer Hooks, the Polk Museum of Art annually awards the Harrison-Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award to a local leading patron of the arts. A memorial service will be held Monday, June 10, at 1 pm, at St. David""s Episcopal Church. Memorial contributions are requested by the family to be made to The Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, 750 Hollingsworth Rd., Lakeland FL, 33801, the Polk Museum of Art, 800 E. Palmetto St., Lakeland, FL, 33801, the Peace River Center, 1239 E. Main St., Bartow, FL, 33830, or Planned Parenthood Federation of America, www.plannedparenthood.org or 434 West 33rd St., New York, NY, 10001. Service: 06/10/2013 St. David\'s Episcopal Church 145 East Edgewood Drive, Lakeland, FL