In 2024 AAUW Durango began fundraising for an endowed scholarship to honor Mary Lou McElreath Falkenstein and Ann Butler.  The Spring Book and Author event will be the primary fundraiser for this fund,  But you can always donate using the donate tab on this site.

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Mary Lou McElreath Falkenstein, 1928-2020
Lou Falkenstein, born in Durant, OK, attended Texas State Women’s College, then graduated
from North Texas State University with a BA in history. She later had a 28-year career as a Social
Worker. She and her husband, Bill, moved to Durango in 1988. She was a life-long activist and
humanitarian. She marched against the Iraq War and for women’s rights during the Me Too
movement. A member of the League of Women Voters since 1963, Lou joined AAUW in 1988.
In Durango she belonged to several choral societies and book clubs. Lou supported and was
active in AAUW Durango and served as co-president with Judith Reynolds.

Ann Elizabeth Butler, 1955-2023
Ann Butler was a Durango native. She attended Needham Elementary and Durango High
School. Ann excelled at languages and graduated from the University of Denver with a major in
Spanish and Latin American Studies. She may be best known as a reporter for the Durango
Herald . Her column, “Neighbors” told the delightful, warm stories of local events and people.
In 2013 the Durango Art Center named her Sweetheart of the Arts for her contributions to the
community as a whole and the arts in particular. She wrote obituaries for the Herald, helping
and consoling thousands of families in their time of grieving. Ann belonged to many local
organizations, including Rotary, the Reading Club of Durango, and AAUW. In 2022 she gave her
by-now-famous obituary-writing presentation to a fledgling AAUW memoir writing group and
said, “Write it!”