The only residence hall on the Kent Campus named for a student is Koonce Hall, dedicated in 1968 in honor of Judith Ellen Koonce, BS ’57. Known to her friends as Judy, she was born April 17, 1935, to James and Julia Koonce of Cleveland. After completing studies at George Washington Elementary School and John Marshall High School, she enrolled at Kent State in 1953.
Koonce was popular among her fellow Kent State students. She was elected sophomore treasurer, according to a Kent Stater article dated November 1, 1954. She was selected as one of three finalists (from a field of 25) for Snowball Queen of a semi-formal dance and fundraising event hosted by Phi Sigma Kappa, according to a Kent Stater article dated Feb. 4, 1955. Koonce was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
She majored in biology and earned a Bachelor of Science in education in 1957. After graduating, she taught art and science at Eastmoor Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio, during the 1957–58 school year. She was an active member of the faculty and sponsored the Outdoor Club. She planned to enter graduate school at Kent State in September to work on a master’s degree.
In the summer of 1958, Koonce was serving as a conservation instructor at Camp Clifton, operated by the 4-H organization, as she had for the past four summers. On the morning of July 17, 1958, according to an article from the Xenia Daily Gazette dated June 19, 1968, she was leading 40 campers on a hike at what is now the Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, when an 11-year-old girl, Kyrleen Ruhl, lost her footing and fell into the Little Miami River—a 35-foot drop into 75 or 80 feet of rushing water.
Koonce told the other children to go to a nearby road and summon help. Then she climbed part way down the cliff wall and leaped into the river in a rescue attempt. By the time sheriff deputies, firemen and police arrived, she and Kyrleen had drowned in the swift current. The event triggered a search for both victims and the child’s body was recovered that evening about 1,000 feet west of where she had fallen into the water. Koonce’s body was recovered the following Sunday, July 20, 150 feet downstream.
After her tragic death, Koonce was posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism, an honor awarded to individuals who risk their lives attempting to save the lives of others. At the 4-H camp, a cabin bears her name. At Eastmoor, the school planted a redbud, her favorite tree, as a symbol of her love for the outdoors. Students contributed to the purchase of a bronze plaque, inscribed with her name and heroic attempt, that was placed at the base of the tree.
After her tragic death, Koonce was posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism, an honor awarded to individuals who risk their lives attempting to save the lives of others.
At Kent State, the Judith Koonce Memorial Award in biology was established in 1960 and still is awarded to “the outstanding graduating biological sciences major based on enthusiasm for biology as demonstrated by activities beyond formal coursework, leadership ability and academic record.” Her legacy also lives on as the namesake of a residence hall in the Tri-Towers complex at Kent State.
