Lela Margaret Cole Kitson (May 25, 1891, in Hill City, South Dakota – November 25, 1970, in El Paso, Texas) was a freelance writer of primarily western romances from 1920 to 1955.
as feature writer; The El Paso Herald Post 1943–50 as Woman's Page Editor and the Hudsbeth County News 1964–1970 as "The Observer", a political commentary column.
Higher education was not available in Cananea so she was sent to the Marlborough School for Girls located in Los Angeles, where other Cole family members resided, including her great-granduncle U.S.
In 1914 she married Howard Waldo Kitson of New York City, a 1909 Columbia College graduate specializing in mining and geology, in Morenci, Arizona, where he was employed.
In 1964, under the pen name "The Observer", Lela wrote a political column for the Hudsbeth County News, a bi-monthly newspaper published in Dell City, Texas, which she continued until her death.