Kathyrn Koob: Remarkable journey from farm girl to diplomat and esteemed educator (2024)

WATERLOO — As a child, Kathryn Koob loved reading stories about people in other lands. Her mother often said she inherited an “itchy foot” from her grandfather.

Koob, now 85, grew up to become a diplomat and an educator.

On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian college students supporting the Iranian Revolution seized the U.S. Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage. Koob was one of those Americans held for 444 days during the Iranian hostage crisis. They were eventually released on Jan. 20, 1981.

“We weren’t the first diplomats to ever be taken hostage. We were the largest group and held for the longest time. Hostage-taking is part of diplomatic history,” Koob said.

Throughout her harrowing experience, Koob was sustained by her faith in God.

“I’m a ‘cradle Lutheran,’ meaning I’m a lifelong Lutheran,” she explained. She found solace and strength in prayer. It was her “safety net” during captivity, both comforting and giving her courage.

Koob never broke. She used the time to grow spiritually, praying for family and friends and the world at large, studied the Book of Psalms and sang hymns.

“If you’re told you can’t sing hymns, you can still sing them to yourself. They couldn’t stop what was going on inside your mind.”

Freed from captivity, she never entertained the notion of quitting her job. She has no regrets.

“I loved the work. I loved the community. I was involved in public diplomacy,” she explained, which meant connecting with people in her host countries to foster cooperation, understanding and trust.

“To be able to work with people, with moms and dads where they live, was wonderful. No matter where you live, parents always want their kids to have it better than they did.”

In 1982, Koob described her experience in “Guest of the Revolution: The Triumphant Story of an American Held Hostage in Iran.” She spent nearly 28 years in the U.S. foreign service before returning to Iowa in 1996.

“I came home to Waverly. I liked the community, and I appreciated that small-town feel. It’s where I felt most at home,” said Koob, who now lives in Waterloo.

A Jubilee native, Koob grew up on a larger farm in Black Hawk County, graduated from Jesup High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Wartburg College in Waverly. She served as a district parish worker and assisted nine Midwestern parishes in establishing new churches and began her teaching career at St. Paul’s in Waverly. Later she taught speech and theater at Newton High School.

Koob spent summers in Colorado earning a master’s degree in theater arts at the University of Denver. With her interest in other cultures and a passion for traveling, she was encouraged to take the foreign service exam. She sat for it in 1967 and “passed by the skin of my teeth,” she modestly recalled.

“Your name goes on a list, and you’re advised to tell your employer you might have to resign if you’re called. My supervisor told me to resign now and hope the call comes,” she said, smiling.

A year later, Koob was in New York City taking acting classes and working at the Church Center for the United Nations when she got the call to begin training in Washington, D.C. In 1969, she went to work for the U.S. Information Agency.

Her first diplomatic posting was the Ivory Coast, Zambia and Kenya in Africa. In 1978, she was recalled to the U.S. for language training, and then was sent to Tehran, Iran, where she was director of the Iran American Center. Koob later served at the Foreign Press Center in New York City, followed by Vienna, Austria; Munich, Germany; and Australia.

Koob retired in 1996 and headed home to Iowa. She became an adjunct professor at Wartburg College, earned her master’s degree in religion and taught religion classes.

“Koob has made her impact as a philanthropist with endowed charitable funds and scholarships at Wartburg College, as well as the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa,” said Laurie Everhardt from Wartburg College, which joined with CFNEIA to nominate Koob for Eight Over 80 recognition.

“At CFNEIA, she is active in the Women for Good which educates, engages and inspires giving to improve the lives of women and girls in Black Hawk County,” Everhardt said.

Koob received the Living Loehe Award from Wartburg Seminary in 1981 and has donated several artifacts to Wartburg College to establish the Kathryn Koob Collection. In addition, the white woolen beret she bought in Ireland on her way home to the U.S. after being released from captivity, and a copy of the “hostage cross” she wore during her captivity were donated to the National Museum of American Diplomacy in 2019. The original cross broke from years of rubbing it during prayer.

Her passion for travel has never waned.

“I still love going places, seeing things and meeting people. I continue to be interested in what’s happening in the world.”