The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Lois Mander-Jones grew up in Victoria and attended Presbyterian Girls College in Geelong. In 1940 she joined the Union Bank in Melbourne and then joined the Army. She was on General Blamey’s staff in Queensland. She became the personal assistant to the Director of Intelligence Brigadier John Rogers and also worked for Brigadier Kenneth Wills. On 9 June 1943 she married Evan Mander-Jones. Her husband went to New Guinea and returned to be the head of the Intelligence School. As couples could not work in the same unit she was transferred to Army Education. She became pregnant and was discharged from the army. She lost this baby and another child. Her husband was appointed Director of Education in South Australia. She had three sons and continued to work for the University. They spent a year overseas in 1959. She did a marriage guidance course and counselled for five years. Family commitments were dominant in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965 she enrolled in a Diploma of Social Work and in 1968 she took a part time job as a research worker with the Institute of Technology. From 1970 to 1978 she worked as a part time supervisor and trainer of counsellors. Her husband died in 1975. In 1978 she started working at Flinders University as a part time social work demonstrator and she retired in 1982. She became involved with the Lyceum Club being Vice President and President and in 1993 Australian President of the Association of Lyceum Clubs. Mander-Jones was awarded honorary life membership in 1993.