Lois Jewell Henion Higgins Clark (left), my dad’s baby sister, was born on May 21, 1926 and died from a stroke on Friday, March 27, 2009 at the age of (almost) 83. Though I have not seen much of her in the past two (maybe even three) decades, I have many happy memories of my association with my aunt. She had a wonderful, raspy laugh that came all the way up from her toes and she was an interesting contradiction in terms. She had a well-deserved reputation as a terrible housekeeper, but loved to entertain! She was hard on her husband, but he absolutely adored her (and, I suspect, he is suffering terribly at her loss). She struggled for many years with diabetes (our family disease) and recently with serious heart problems complicated by a lifelong struggle with alcohol. She lost her first husband in 1942 when his plane was shot down during World War II and her only daughter Zanna, who fell from a rocky ledge after about her 100th rock climb, leaving behind two beautiful daughters.
Though my Aunt Lois was almost 20 years older, we were pregnant at the same time. I was expecting Kelly (my first) when she was expecting Adam Peter (her fourth and last child) so we had a lot to talk about; and, when we lived in Thousand Oaks - not far from their home in Northridge - we enjoyed many fun times together. She teased me frequently about my Mormon-penchant for food storage and made particular fun of all the bottles of water we had stored "just in case!" When the 1972 earthquake hit (measuring over 7.2 on the Richter Scale), hers and hundreds of other homes in Northridge were left without safe drinking water for several days; but, she knew who to call. The very water bottles she had teased me about sustained her family for about a week. She never again made fun of my food storage.
It’s too long of a story to share here, but Lois helped me solve a tricky genealogy problem relating to her mother’s birthday. If you haven’t already heard the story, ask me about it sometime. My darling aunt leaves behind her husband Stan and three sons - Steve, Dexter and Adam Peter. Regarding the photo, Coral Nyland (in the middle) is the only sister still living. Leodice Henion Wheeler (in the blue blouse) was the oldest. Lois and Leodice were my favorite of my dad's sisters, perhaps because I knew them the best.
