The
Louise P. Zanar
Fund
at The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
at The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Louise Zanar was a gifted writer, musician and cook. She lived with her partner, Liz McGrail, and their dog, Keswick in Washington, DC, where she was also a well respected labor lawyer.
In High School, Louise led the synagogue’s choir and hosted a school radio show with her best friend Lisa Mendelson.
At college, Louise was a serious student, with a major in Comparative Literature with proficiency in French and Russian. Although she was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated cum laude, she nevertheless found ample time to entertain and lead. She organized her Slavic language peers to study together in a room forever dubbed the “Russian Study Room”. She somehow managed to teach all of her housemates to sing the folk song “Kupeetya Byblichky”, in flawless Russian. She also hosted a “Breakfast Club” complete with guitar playing and singing. Her signature song, “My Eggs Don’t Taste the Same Without You” was a favorite among her classmates at Smith College.
Louise also demonstrated a unique ability to combine her musical gifts, writing talent and sharp wit
with her philanthropic nature. In one of her earliest fundraising endeavors, she organized a party
called “Cash for Flash”. She composed a song for banjo and cello and she performed this comic song with her classmate, Julie Marston, to raise money for Flash (the cat) to be spayed –
Oh won’t you help Ms. Flash,
she’s in desperate need of cash,
$30 for a simple operation,
help Ms. Flash to gain her liberation…
Refrain:
Oh no more kittens, kittens, kittens,
no more little pussy cats,
It’s not that she don’t care for them,
she loves the little brats…
Oh, Miss Flash has had some insights, |
motherhood just ain’t her bag,
18 cats and so much work
can get to be a drag…
Soon after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Smith in 1978, Louise moved to Washington, DC and earned a JD from George Washington University. She practiced labor law in Washington, DC for over 18 years.
During her practice she authored and co-authored numerous legal articles on a range of labor law issues. In addition to practicing law, Louise published essays about food and entertainment in the Washington Blade, Legal Times and Chowhound.com. At the time of her death, she was working on a book of food essays.
In Washington, Louise continued writing occasional songs for appropriate events such as her softball team’s end of the year celebration. And she continued to bring people together to raise funds for worthy organizations. With her talents for artistic expression and her warmth and charm, Louise was able to bring a vast array of people together from throughout her life. Once labeled “indiscriminately amiable” by a friend, and reprimanded for being “too friendly” by her kindergarten teacher, Louise laughed at this, but we knew that it truly captured her incredible passion for people.
Louise’s nephew Josh Werman captured his aunt’s spirit beautifully when he said: ”It was this ability to connect to people that has brought so many here today. I am truly blown away by some of the people who have come to be here. Not only family and friends, but acquaintances, friends of friends, friends of family, bosses, co-workers, even former teachers…Louise was someone that anyone who knew the pleasure of her company would want to be around. But when I think of Louise singing… the words that echo with the greatest clarity in my mind are when she sang "Oh, Susanna, oh don't you cry for me." And that is what Louise would have sung to us today. She would have asked that we continue to tell our stories; that we continue to exchange them with the other people we know, that we continue to connect with each other, and most importantly of all, that we continue, always, to laugh.”
