The only residence hall on the ½ΔΟΜεΣύ Campus named for a student is Koonce Hall, dedicated in 1968 in honor of Judith Ellen Koonce, BS β57. 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 ½ΔΟΜεΣύ State in 1953.
Koonce was popular among her fellow ½ΔΟΜεΣύ State students. She was elected sophomore treasurer, according to a ½ΔΟΜεΣύ 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 ½ΔΟΜεΣύ 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 1957β58 school year. She was an active member of the faculty and sponsored the Outdoor Club. She planned to enter graduate school at ½ΔΟΜεΣύ State in September to work on a masterβs 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 Riverβa 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 childβs body was recovered that evening about 1,000 feet west of where she had fallen into the water. Koonceβs 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 ½ΔΟΜεΣύ State, the Judith Koonce Memorial Award in biology was established in 1960 and still is awarded to βthe outstanding graduating biological sciences major based on enthusiasm for biology as demonstrated by activities beyond formal coursework, leadership ability and academic record.β Her legacy also lives on as the namesake of a residence hall in the Tri-Towers complex at ½ΔΟΜεΣύ State.