Lora Lee Rackstraw was born June 27, 1931 at Omaha, Nebraska. She graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1949 with a diploma and continued with her education at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. In 1953 she received a B.A. in Psychology. She also studied Philosophy and English at Grinnell. She completed graduate work at the Iowa State Teachers College (UNI) in 1959 and 1960, but did not earn her degree from here. She finished her coursework in 1966 at the University of Iowa and was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree in English.
Rackstraw began work at UNI in 1961 as Information Assistant in the College Relations Office. She remained in this position until 1964 or 1965. For the following 30 years Rackstraw was a faculty member at this university. In 1966 she was hired as an Instructor of English and in 1969 became Assistant Professor of English. From 1976 until her retirement in 1996, she held the position of Associate Professor of English Language and Literature.
Archives Record Series: 14/03/13 Lora Lee Rackstraw Papers