Lois M. (Jennings) Thomas

Lois M. (Jennings) Thomas, 74, of Crystal Lake, died Thursday, February 14, 2008 at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit after a short illness with cancer.

Funeral services for Lois Thomas will be held Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. at Ewing Funeral Chapel, 178 Center Street West in Britt with John Rollefson officiating. 

Visitation will be held Friday, February 15, 2008 from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the Ewing Funeral Chapel in Britt and continue one hour prior to services at the funeral chapel.

Lois was born on September 2, 1933 to Al and Orpha (Marshall) Jennings at Letts, Iowa. As a small child her family moved to the Mitchell County area where she attended various rural schools.

On September 28, 1950 she was united in marriage to Kenneth D. Heller in Princeton, Missouri. To this union six children were born, Kenneth M. Heller, Cynthia M. Caroon, LuAnn K. Brandt, Patty L. Heller, Sandra R. Wiesen, and Tammy L. Fallon.

On October 30, 1971 she was united in marriage to Charles E. Thomas and moved to the Des Moines area in 1973. She worked for Pella Windows and Amwest Surety Insurance Company while in Des Moines. In 1983, she and Charles moved to Crystal Lake to operate the Crystal Lake Hardware Store for a few years, while she commuted to Minneapolis and worked for Amwest Surety until her retirement.   Prior to her illness she was employed at Suntron in Garner, putting together circuit boards. She was most proud of her ability to read electrical diagrams and out performing her younger peers.

Lois had a passion for family and friends. Her smile was always present and ready for anyone who wanted to get to know her. She loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Family gatherings were a priority, celebrating birthdays and holidays. Christmas was her favorite time of the year and loved having her decorations out for all to share. When the weather was nice, she could be found working in her flower beds or on the golf course. When there were sporting events for her grandchildren she was always there, whether it was hockey, football, basketball, softball, or baseball, she was competitive by nature and wanted to see her family do well! She enjoyed her Wednesday night dart league and cheering for her Vikings. One of her hobbies was painting on crafts and Christmas ornaments. She had a talent that she loved to share with others and those were precious gifts to anyone lucky enough to receive a painting from her. She always had a sense of adventure, wanting to know all she could by reading or traveling to anyplace that she wanted to see. She was so proud of being able to drive to Laurel, Montana in September 2007 and experience many wonderful memories with her family. She had such a big heart to all that knew her and was willing to help in any way that she could. She was a special grandma to Courtney and Chuck helping to raise them and guide them with her love. Her laughter and sense of humor will be missed, because if you knew Lois, you knew she lived life to the fullest!

She is survived by her son, Ken (Becky) Heller, Laurel, Montana, and three daughters: Cindy (Duane) Caroon, Hibbing, Minnesota; Anne (Greg) Brandt, Woden, Iowa; and Sandy (Matt) Wiesen, Osage, Iowa; 11 grandchildren, Kristin (Nate) Hunziker, Jamie Heller, Kaileigh and Scott Bartlebaugh, Trinity (Jim) Hemmila, Opal (Jim) Buck: Jason (Nicole Lovik) Blaser, Nicole (Stanley) Niece, Justin Smith, Courtney Welch, and Chuck (Tess) Welch; 9 great-grandchildren: Rylan and Natalie Huinziker, Ally Dickson, Hunter Hemmila, Treyton Blaser, Luke Niece, Leah Ann and Hailey Rose Smith, and Charlie Welch; her brother Francis (Millie) Jennings and two sisters: Doris (Le Roy) Reynolds and Clarice Schmetzer.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Charles in 1993; daughters: Patty L. Heller in infancy and Tammy L. Fallon in 2005, brother: Bill Jennings, sister: Marian Doane, and special nephew, Jay Ellis.