Lisa K. Price

1940 - 2022

Lisa K. Price
April 17, 1940 - June 23, 2022
Chapel Hill , North Carolina - Lisa Beth Kanwit Price of Chapel Hill died June 23 from complications of pancreatic cancer at the Carol Woods Health Center.
Lisa was born on April 17, 1940 in Washington, DC, the first child of Julia Pinkus Kanwit and Edmond L. Kanwit. She grew up in the Tauxemont community of Alexandria, Virginia. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Goucher College and an MSW from Boston University School of Social Work.
Lisa valued her Jewish background, particularly its vision of a just society, and took great interest in the history of her grandparents' and great-grandparents' immigration from Belarus, Lithuania, and other points in central and eastern Europe.
Lisa and her future husband David met in Washington in the mid-1960s when she was working for an anti-poverty agency and he for a U.S. Senator. They were married in 1968. Their daughter Karen was born in 1969, their son Michael in 1972.
Lisa came from a family of New Deal Democrats and showed an interest in politics early on, getting involved in civil rights and nuclear disarmament in her college years and joining Democratic Party activities wherever she lived â€" an inclination she shared with David. When the family first lived in New Haven, Connecticut, she let herself be recruited to run as a "Reform Democrat" for the Board of Aldermen. She won, defeating the "regulars" from both parties.
Lisa always said her budding political career was cut short when David received an offer to teach political science and public policy at Duke University. But the family willingly moved to Chapel Hill in 1973, where Lisa over the years became a beloved and admired participant in varied aspects of community life.
Lisa worked as a social worker with the Interfaith Council. Chapel Hill Mayor Jonathan Howes recruited her to serve as his executive assistant in 1987, a position she continued with Mayor Ken Broun.
In 1993, deeply moved by the killing of a young woman while jogging in Chapel Hill, she joined with friends to found North Carolinians Against Gun Violence. She was executive director of the organization until her retirement in 2008, building it into a respected advocacy group in an often difficult political environment. A personal high point for Lisa was when she persuaded Petula Clark, her favorite singer when she and David were dating, to headline an NCGV fundraiser when she was performing in Raleigh.
Lisa was a woman of many causes, but a few stood out: civil rights; environmental protection; and animal welfare, particularly the conditions on factory farms. In recent years, she was a mainstay of the Kidzu Children's Museum in Chapel Hill, spearheading development efforts and helping chart the museum's future course. Lisa also loved music and supported musical organizations. She had an uncanny ability to identify classical pieces, particularly from her favorite nineteenth and early-twentieth century composers.
Lisa was a full partner in all that David undertook, politically and otherwise, perhaps most notably their first congressional campaign in 1986. As recently as February, they led a delegation of ten House members to Israel and the West Bank. She traveled with great interest to the developing democracies in the House Democracy Partnership. She and David shared a special interest in Ukraine, Georgia, and other countries in central and eastern Europe by virtue of Lisa's family background and the fact they visited Prague on their honeymoon trip at what turned out to be the height of the Prague Spring, one week before the Soviet tanks rolled in.
Lisa is survived by her husband David; daughter Karen (Justin Meadows) and granddaughter Genevieve Annalise; son Michael (Jade Gibson Price) and grandchildren Charles Albert and Margaret Elizabeth; sister-in-law Mary Anne Price Combs; brothers Peter (Gloria Kanwit) and Roy (Mary DeBey); three nieces and nephews; numerous cousins; and a host of friends. Lisa had a remarkable gift for friendship.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, July 1 at 1:00 PM at the Friday Conference Center, 100 Friday Center Drive, Chapel Hill. Attendees are asked to observe COVID mask protocols. Memorial contributions may be made to North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, PO Box 51565, Durham, NC 27717 and Kidzu Children's Museum, 201 S. Estes Drive, Suite A9, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.