09/22/2026
Meet LuAnn Kilts. Reflecting on her decades with the Cedar Rapids Community School District, she cites the generations of families who still remember her as the most memorable.
Kilts, a food and nutrition cashier at Hoover Elementary School, will celebrate 30 years with the district in May.
“I’ve actually had the second generation come through,” Kilts said. “I’ve seen their parents graduate, and then when I was in the elementary schools, I saw their kids come through. Some of them I’ve even seen again in the high schools. I can’t wait to see the third generation come through.”
Those former students often recognize her immediately.
“The parents always say I look the same as I did back then,” she said with a laugh. “That’s a nice compliment.”
Kilts began her career at Jefferson High School, initially working two hours a day as a food service assistant. She later became a cashier and served as a manager during her final two years at Jefferson. After 12 years there, she moved to Madison Elementary School, where she worked as a cashier for seven years.
She later spent a year at Washington High School before transferring to Kennedy High School, which was closer to her home on the west side. She worked at Kennedy for seven years before moving to Hoover, where she is now in her fifth year.
“I love seeing the kids,” Kilts said. “They put a smile on my face.”
Kilts grew up in Riceville, Iowa, and attended college in Mason City, where she studied secretarial work. She began waiting tables and discovered she could make more money as a waitress, but when her children came along, working for the school district offered a better schedule.
“My kids were starting kindergarten, and they were involved in different activities,” she said. “I could come in around 8:30 or 9 o’clock, work until 1:30 or 2, and then have my afternoon free before they got out of school. I had my summers off, too.”
Even after her children graduated, Kilts knew she was not ready to leave.
“I decided I was going to keep going,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like 30 years. It went pretty fast. I just love my job.”
For Kilts, being a cashier has always meant much more than completing transactions. Working in school cafeterias has given her the opportunity to notice students, learn their personalities and offer encouragement.
“Some kids come from difficult home lives, and I like to joke with them. They like to joke with me, too,” she said. “I like putting a smile on their faces.”
Those relationships became especially meaningful following the unexpected death of Kilts’ husband, Jeff, three years ago. Jeff was a 1988 graduate of Jefferson High School, the same school where LuAnn began her district career.
Returning to work and seeing her students each day helped Kilts cope with the loss.
“I love coming to school. It helps just seeing the kids smile,” she said.
Shortly after Jeff died, one Hoover student offered Kilts a regular dose of comfort.
“There was a fourth grader who would give me a hug every day,” Kilts recalled. “Normally, I wouldn’t tell kids something that dramatic, but I told her I had lost my husband and that I loved her hugs every day. I told her that if she was ever feeling down, I could give her a hug, too. We had a good rapport together.”
As Kilts learned to navigate life as a widow, she also found ways to continue the traditions she and Jeff shared. She still recognizes their anniversary, celebrates the holidays and decorates their home with the inflatables the couple once put up together from Halloween through Christmas.
Her adult son now helps her continue the tradition each year.
“That’s really special,” Kilts said. “I just keep Jeff’s memory alive. I talk about him a lot.”
Kilts has also started returning to other activities she and Jeff enjoyed together, including traveling and attending concerts.
Among her favorite performers are Cher and Rick Springfield. This October, she plans to see Springfield perform in Riverside for the fifth time.
One of her favorite concert memories happened in 2016, when she and Jeff saw Springfield at the Q Casino in Dubuque. The singer and his family were staying on the same hotel floor as the couple, and Kilts found herself riding in an elevator with Springfield’s wife.
“I asked my husband, ‘Do you know who she is?’” Kilts recalled. “He said, ‘Who?’ and I said, ‘That’s Rick Springfield’s wife!’”
For Kilts, the reason to stay committed to our district is simple… the students.
“I just love seeing the kids,” she said. “I’m going to keep going as long as my health hangs in there.”
