Iowa State Teachers Association. She left the association in 1945 to travel to the headquarters of the National Education Association in Washington, D.C. so that she could become assistant editor of the organization's journal and to become the associate director of American Education Week. Samuelson retired in 1952 and moved back to Iowa to live in Des Moines. After her retirement, she wrote books and compiled a school manual and service for the Governor's Commission on Senior Citizens. Death Samuelson died on May 12, 1963, in Des Moines, Iowa, from cancer after being ill for over a year. The funeral service was held at First Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Iowa, and she was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Shenandoah, Iowa. Honors and legacy Samuelson ensured that all Iowa children would receive equal education regardless of their property wealth in their home school district. A Des Moines elementary school was named Samuelson School in her honor. In 1976, Samuelson was posthumously inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. References 1887 births 1963 deaths People from Shenandoah, Iowa Iowa State University alumni University of Nebraska alumni Educators from Iowa 20th-century American women educators American people of Swedish descent Iowa Superintendents of Public Instruction Deaths from cancer in Iowa Iowa Republicans Women in Iowa politics 20th-century American educators