STUART LOOMIS TURNS
100 YEARS OLD TODAY!
Stuart Loomis was born on this day, November 21, 1919, in Kansas, Missouri.
As a child he loved music and was the Drum Major for his high school band. Later, he went on to study at the University of Nebraska with the plan of becoming a music teacher and orchestra conductor. The plans of mice and men go astray. Times were harsh during the Depression and FDR’s WPA was in effect. Thousands of homeless young people whose families could not feed them found shelter at National Guard Camps during the summers and at cheap government assisted hotels when winter struck. A friend recruited Stuart to help these young adults adjust to their difficult new lives. His career in psychology and community service was born! He began working towards a degree in Psychology at the University of Chicago.
But, World War II intervened and with the military’s usual wisdom, they assigned Stuart to be a ground crew chief for anti-aircraft. After his crew shot the tail off their training plane (The pilot had to parachute.), someone finally checked his file. He was reassigned to the medics as a psychology assistant. After the war, as a psychologist, Stuart became Chief of Veteran Testing & Counseling at the University of Chicago. He set up clinics around the country to deal with PTSD and other veteran issues. A colleague of his became the Dean of Students for San Francisco State and lured Stuart away to San Francisco.
Stuart became the Chief of Veteran Testing & Counseling at Letterman General Hospital and also taught psychology at SF State. In 1960, Haight Ashbury Clinic was founded and Stuart became the Chief Psychologist. The 1960’s were turbulent for San Francisco. Movements and protests such as Civil Rights, Gay Rights, Free Speech and Anti Vietnam abounded. In 1967, the call went out to young people across the country: “Wear a flower and come to San Francisco!” 100,000 hippies, with jingling bells and flowers, flooded the Haight Ashbury District bringing with them an appetite for free love, drugs, free food and creativity. Drug overdoses, diseases, overpopulation and unsanitary conditions quickly followed. Stuart was at the forefront of dealing with these problems.
In 1972, an old friend, Gary Titus, who went on to start Oaxaca’s Learning Center, asked Stuart to help him get set up in Oaxaca. Stuart, who had visited Mexico City and Guadalajara, liked Oaxaca and moved there after meeting his longtime companion,
Cipriano Ramos.
In the early 1980’s, Stuart was elected to the Oaxaca Lending Library Board. Coming from a generation of dedicated library supporters, he joined with other volunteers who were determined to keep the OLL open. It wasn’t easy. In later years, he also was a founder of the OLL's LGBTQ's Breakfast.
Stuart has led a life of caring service, loyalty and love to all those around him. The world is a better place because of men like Stuart.
¡Happy 100th Birthday to you Stuart!
OPEN HOUSE CELEBRATION FOR STUART
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2-5 PM
Callejón de la Paz #125
Colonia Luis Figueroa
Cipriano Ramos and his family are holding an open house at their home for those who want to celebrate with Stuart...please join them on this auspicious occasion.
