Lori Kolb, 2009 – Always on the Road – Chicago Architecture Center

By Brent Hoffmann, Class of 2005

What do you do after you’ve logged thousands of air-miles on your job, then retire? And become a docent? If you’re Lori Kolb, you dust off your traveling shoes, renew your passport, and get back on the road.

“I was a flight attendant for Pan Am for 25 years, based in Miami, New York, and London,” Lori said. “I began my career flying for National Airlines, which Pan Am bought in 1980. I finished my career with Delta Airlines when Pan Am sold its European routes and transferred many of its crews to Delta. I loved my job. It opened up the world to me. With travel, history come to life, and different cultures are made real. Also, I was able to use my languages every time I donned my uniform.”

Flight attendant Lori boards a flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea.

How big is the Airbus passenger plane? “Big enough for you to stand by the turbofan engine on the wing,” says Lori.

In 2008, Lori moved from Boulder, Colorado, to Chicago when her husband Bob accepted an endowed chair in finance at Loyola University. “Being new to the city, we liked taking CAF tours,” she continued. “I met docent Barry Sears and learned that CAF was looking for docents. I enlisted in the class of 2009. As well as learning about the city’s architecture and history, I have made lasting friendships through CAC.”

The Kolbs are commuters. They keep their home in Boulder for summers, and live in a condo in Chicago during Bob’s school year

Which One?

“On my river tours,” said Lori, “I try to help passengers understand why particular buildings and sites are noteworthy. Sometimes, at the end of a tour, passengers tell me their own stories. One of my favorites is from a passenger who told me that his uncle had trained as a pilot at Navy Pier during World War II. A few years ago, the uncle got a call telling him that the plane he’d sunk in a training accident had been recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan. And it would be displayed in the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. The surprised uncle responded, ‘which one?’ Apparently, he’d sunk more than one airplane on his way to earning his wings as a navy pilot. I like to pass on that story.”

Lori grew up on a farm in Middlebury, Indiana. She attended Florida International University, Miami, and earned a B.A. in international relations – plus a combined master’s degree in history and education. During her flying career, she certified in the French, Spanish, and Italian languages. “But since stepping away from flying, my languages have atrophied to only general conversation,” she admitted.

On Ship

She and her husband travel, extensively. About 100 days every year. In 2014, they worked their way around the world with Semester at Sea, a study-abroad program that makes a ship its traveling campus. “Generally, there are about 600 university students who take courses for credit. There also are adult lifelong learners aboard who audit courses,” Lori explained. “On our ship, Bob taught classes in society and business, with one class focused on China. I was the social director for the adult passengers. That included scheduling lectures, encouraging the adults to mingle with the young students, and being the point person for social problem-solving.” Their trip left from San Diego, traveled west around the tip of Africa, and ended 112 days later in South Hampton, England. “We spent about six days in each port – including in Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco,” she said. “I highly recommend Semester at Sea. It’s life changing for well-traveled adults as well as students.”

Lori fraternizes with a cheetah in Namibia, Africa.

Travelers Lori and Bob visit Cape Agulhas at the southern-most tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.

By Bike

Lori and her husband also favor more active travel, such as long-distance hiking and biking. They took a 100-mile round-trip hike in Switzerland and biked from Colorado to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. “We’ve taken many 500-plus-mile bike trips in the west, always carrying our own gear. In 2016, I biked the annual 224-mile STP (Seattle-to-Portland, Oregon) ride so I could score a ‘double century’ ride.

“No matter where or how we travel, we enjoy spending time in our Chicago home. This year, I plan to double my number of river tours. I look forward to warm, dry weather,” concluded Lori, “in an exciting city full of interesting history and people.”