Willa Wolcott Condon, Class of 2005

Born in Boulder in 1910, Willa began playing tennis at an early age. Her father, a son of pioneers, was an administrator and controller at the University of Colorado. He had regular tennis matches with P.I. Folsom, for whom the current CU football stadium is named, and many other professors. This group comprised Willa's main set of practice partners.

She graduated from Boulder Prep High School in 1926 where she played on the tennis team. While still in high school, Willa began a dominance of Colorado women's tennis that lasted eight years.

Willa won 19 major Colorado and regional singles championships. At ages 14 and 15, Willa reached the women's singles final of the Denver City Open. She went on to win the tournament five times between 1926-32. Her mastery continued with three women's singles titles in the Cheyenne Mountain Invitational in Colorado Springs between 1930-33, five Colorado State tennis championships between 1927-34 and four Intermountain singles titles from 1928-32. Willa also had success as a doubles player, winning five consecutive Colorado State doubles titles beginning in 1930. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1930, Willa moved to San Francisco to attend Mills College. From there, she went on to work as a secretary at the Mayo Clinic. It was there that she met Bill Condon of Greeley, whom she married in 1940. They moved back to Denver in 1946 and had two daughters, Karen and Ann.

Back in Denver, Willa continued to play tennis. Beginning in 1952, she started playing a weekly doubles match with a group of women that included Colorado Tennis Hall of Famer, Carolyn Byrne. That Friday morning tradition lasted 40 years. In her honor, the Colorado Tennis Association named its annual award for outstanding girls' high school tennis team the Willa Wolcott Condon Award.

At her memorial, the minister spoke of Willa's love for tennis and it's impact on her life when he said, “The style with which Willa played tennis is the style with which she lived her life. She placed her shots while the world ran ragged chasing them; and she placed her shots carefully, thoughtfully, skillfully and accurately so that what she did made a difference.”