THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Gwendolyn Wilson Fowler
December 8, 1907 – November 19, 1997
“We all pass through the world, leaving little clues to who we were…Usually we leave accomplishments. Always, we leave stories. Gwendolyn Wilson Fowler left more than her share.” – Rekka Basu, Des Moines Register, 1998
The first African-American woman pharmacist licensed in Iowa. First African-American woman from Iowa to serve in the United States Foreign Service, when she was posted to Vietnam in the 1950s. Lifelong member of the NAACP, active in the American Association of University Women, the Red Cross, the Des Moines Civic Music Board, the Iowa State Drug Abuse Council, the Wilkie House and served on the Board of Directors of the YWCA. She was appointed to the Iowa Statewide Health Coordinating Council by Governor Robert D. Ray and received the Governor’s Volunteer Award.
Photo 1. Gwendolyn in Saigon with President Ngo Diem. Photo 2. Gwendolyn in Honolulu.
More About Gwendolyn:
- Gwendolyn Fowler papers, Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.
- “She Left More Than Her Share,” by Rekka Basu, Des Moines Register, February 13, 1998
- Gwendolyn Fowler named to Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, The Courier, August 24, 1987
- Wikipedia page
