ABSTRACT
Julia Lathrop returned to Rockford in late 1921 as a private citizen. She filled her so-called retirement years with a hectic schedule just as she had done her entire adult life. Lathrop's retirement days were equally busy—she was used to being tired. She campaigned across the country for causes she had long championed such as the Sheppard-Towner bill. Lathrop's many civic activities didn't stop her from enjoying a rich personal life with family—particularly her sister Anna with whom she shared a home—and friends. Lathrop spent time in her last years in Washington, New York, at Vassar College, and at Hull House. She traveled to Europe and to South America, but while in Rockford she and her sister delighted in decorating their home. During Anna's time away Lathrop worked in the garden alongside their assistant, John. With the weather "hot and bright, all things [are] alive in the garden and growing.".
