The Lubbock arts community is mourning the loss and celebrating the legacy of Louise Hopkins Underwood, the namesake of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA).  LHUCA confirmed to EverythingLubbock.com that Underwood passed away at the age of 97 Tuesday evening.

“It’s hard to explain her impact, she literally altered the course of people’s lives and I’m one of those people, and her work continues to alter people’s lives,” explained Charles Adams, who is the Founding Director of the Charles Adams Studio Project and Charles Adams Gallery.  Adams considered himself partners in art with Underwood as they worked to build Lubbock’s art scene. 

He said that Underwood had long carried a dream, a dream to increase access to the arts in Lubbock and to create a place where artists and citizens could gather.

“There was no real sense of community in the arts until Louise started LHUCA,” Adams said.  He explained that he was at Underwood’s home when she first began planning the concept for LHUCA. 

He worked with her, first in the world of art-focused non profits, building on donations from Margaret Talkington. Then they began tapping into the potential of the Texas Tech art student community, and building a larger community for the arts near the Civic Center.

“She’s always been a patron of the arts, her primary love was theater so the first thing that happened at LHUCA was the Firehouse Theater,” Adams said. 

“And Lubbock has become a better city, it becomes a better city all the time and people like Louise made a difference,” Adams asserted.

Mary Saathoff, the President and CEO of the Lubbock Symphony orchestra felt the same way. She first met Underwood through work in 2006.

“Her passion was the arts, but she loved so many different kinds of things, and I think also people were her passion because without the people you couldn’t have the arts, you couldn’t have all the wonderful modes of expression,” Saathoff said. 

Saathoff noted the extended amounts of time and leadership Underwood donated to helping the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra in addition to a number of other community arts organizations.

“In the last 20 years what has happened — and absolutely Louise Underwood and everyone who worked with her are responsible for— it coalescing the art community and raising them up to a level of awareness to the public,” Saathoff said. 

Saathoff said that while she was decades younger than Underwood, she considered her a dear friend. She said the two would “carry on the fight” doing whatever they could to advocate for the arts.

Saathoff explained that Underwood came to struggle with her health in the months before her death. 

“And that struggle is over and that legacy will always live on in the lives of those she met and those that didn’t meet her,” she said. 

 Adams said that Underwood spoke frankly with him about her declining health. 

“Everybody knew it was coming, Louise knew it was coming, she and I had talked about it, she knew that she had put her legacy together and it would hold, it would grow,” Adams said. “And it wasn’t about Louise, it was about her community.”

Adams added that despite her health, Underwood continued to make appearances at the First Friday Art Trail and other LHUCA events right up until the time of her death.

Saathoff said that during Underwood’s final months, the two would talk as well, mulling over the next accomplishments Underwood hoped to scale.

“And she said, ‘I’m not so sure I will get everything done,’  and I said, ‘Louise, it’s ok there will be those of us who will continue to fight that fight that will continue to work on those projects. But it’s ok, you have done enough,'” Saathoff said. 

“It was a life well lived and a job well done,” said Adams of Underwood. 

Saathoff explained that Underwood is survived by five of her six children as well as countless friends and colleagues.

You can still make contributions to LHUCA by going here. The 20 year anniversary exhibit is currently on display at LHUCA