Lois Lucile Lower
September 22, 1931 – September 03, 2021
On Friday, September 3, 2021, Lois Lucile Bush Lower, loving wife and mother of seven children, passed away quietly in her sleep at the age of 89, just 19 days away from her 90th birthday. She is preceded in death by her husband, William Frederick Lower, two siblings, Joyce Lloyd and Jim Bush, and one grandson, Benjamin.
Lois was born on September 22, 1931 in Holbrook, Idaho, the first girl of four children. Her father, James Clifford Bush, and mother, Emma Lucille Bradley, dry farmed acreage during the Depression. The remains of the barn and windmill can still be seen on the farm a few miles north of Holbrook.
Later the family moved into Malad, where Lois completed grade school, then graduating from Malad High School as Class Valedictorian in 1949.
Lois was an excellent student in school and loved to read, earning high marks, and had a high IQ. She also participated in the Malad Rodeo during high school, running the barrels on her faithful horse, Dixie.
Lois went onto University of Idaho, in Moscow, Idaho, graduating with a degree in Journalism in May1953. Becoming a writer, she had an incredible typing speed with those old fashion typewriters, assisting some of her professors. She was also a contributing editor to the University newspaper, and participated in the Rodeo Club, being a cowgirl at heart.
In college, she met William Lower, a farmer at heart, who tried to prove he was a cowboy by also joining the Rodeo Club, so he could woo her with his singing and guitar playing.
Shortly after she graduated, Bill and Lois got married July 5, 1953 at her parent’s home in Malad, spending their honeymoon in Hailey, Idaho, south of Sun Valley.
She had her first girl child February 1, 1955 while waiting for Bill to graduate, then the next girl in Milwaukee, another girl in Houston, and her four boys in and around the Salt Lake Valley.
Lois then followed her husband faithfully for 67 years all over the United States as he was transferred around by his work, living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Houston, Texas, Salt Lake City, Utah, Washington, NJ, then Kenville, New Jersey, Stanley, Idaho, Eureka, NV and eventually retiring to Malad, Idaho.
The traveling began with Lois and Bill’s first car, their infamous 1946 Nash. They loved it so much, it was later used as their favorite password “46Nash”. Then of course arrived the various stations wagons to accommodate a growing family, with the last one being the beloved 1969 Chrysler, still sitting behind the Malad home. Volkswagens were the car of choice when living in New Jersey; imagine if you will, Bill driving to church in the Beetle with Lois holding Tom on her lap while pregnant with Andy. Debby,
Gail, and Marianne were in the backseat, and Lyle and Will squished into the cubbyhole between the rear wheels.
Lois loved their road trips and she kept a framed map in the living room with highways marked in black or red showing which had been driven and which ones hadn’t. It wasn’t uncommon for her to suggest as side trip miles out of the way to see something she thought was interesting.
To commemorate their many homes and cars, Lois created a montage of pictures of every home and car as they moved around the United States, and it hangs in the home today.
Using her journalism skills, she frequently contributed news stories and feature articles to her local community newspapers in Magna, Utah, Challis, Idaho and Eureka, NV.
As a writer she submitted short stories to various publications. Her most famous (to her family) was a science fiction short story published along with other story tellers in an annual writer’s compendium. She also kept journals her whole life, and had many scrapbooks.
She also wrote untold numbers of Primary and Sunday School talks for the children. Once she even wrote a talk on the way to church with a child on her lap using the dashboard of the Volkswagen Beetle for a table.
She later wrote a lovely little book, just for her youngest sister, Nancy, about her adventurous childhood in Holbrook, living with her parents and her sister, Joyce.
Another great skill was photography, a major interest of hers from her youth, starting with the classic box camera. Some of her most prized possessions are her Photo Albums, recording her life from college through growing her huge family. These Photo Albums are beloved by her family.
She proved her business skills when managing Sunbeam Resort on the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River, in Stanley, Idaho, with a small store, a café, 12 cabins and a gas pump, with rafting companies coming and going, miners, tourists and lots of colorful characters in the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains.
One adventurous year, she actually ran for Mayor with an interest in improving the local neighborhood, and later served as a trained domestic violence volunteer, helping at-risk community members.
Lois and Bill were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years, with Lois serving twice as the Relief Society President attending to the Sisters of the ward. She and Bill also went on two service missions, one in Greeley, Colorado and one in Stockton, California.
She had a love of genealogy throughout her life, researching intensively to find ancestors all over the family tree, and she and Bill later served in the Malad Stake Family History Center, helping church members navigate websites, eager to find their
ancestors. Her collection of binders with all her ancestor’s information went back many generations. These collections will be lovingly maintained and continued by her younger sister, Nancy.
At this time, we would like to thank the compassionate care Lois received at the Spring Creek facility in American Falls, Idaho.
Lois is survived by her seven children, Deborah Lower, in Clearwater, Florida; Gail Connor, in Malad, Idaho; Marianne Lower, in Clearwater, Florida; Lyle (Shauna) Lower, in South Jordan, Utah; William F. (Kristen) Lower, Jr., in Rockland, Idaho; Tom (Becky) Lower, in Preston, Idaho; and Andrew (Mark) Lower in Wilmington, Delaware. She has 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Traveling with the family was such a passion that the headstone at the Malad cemetery has on the back of it an outline of the United States with Bill driving a jalopy pickup alongside Lois and seven little kids in the back.
Funeral services will be held Friday, September 17, 2021 at 11:00 at the Malad 4th Ward chapel at 150 South 100 West, Malad, Idaho. with the cemetery service thereafter. We hope you can join us on such short notice to celebrate Lois’ life’s journey with family and friends.
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Lois Lucile Lower passed away peacefully on September 3, 2021 in American Falls, Idaho.
She was born Lois Lucile Bush on September 22, 1931 in Malad, Idaho. Her parents were James Clifford and Emma Lucile Bush and spent her childhood in Holbrook, Idaho. The remains of the barn and windmill can still be seen on the farm a few miles north of Holbrook. She was the older sister to Joyce (Duane) Lloyd, James Clifford Jr. (Sandra), and Nancy Johnson.
She attended school in Malad where she graduated from high school in 1949 as the class Valedictorian and then began the yearly commute to Moscow, Idaho to attend the University of Idaho, graduating in 1953 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.
It was in college where she met her future husband, William F (Bill) Lower, and they married in at her parent’s house in Malad, July 5, 1953. So began 65 + years of marriage and travel. They lived in Moscow, Hailey, Stanley, and Challis, Idaho; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Houston, Texas; Washington, NJ; Salt Lake City, Utah; and finally retired to Malad in 1993. Mom loved road trips and she kept a framed map in the living room with highways marked in black or red showing which had been driven and which ones hadn’t. It wasn’t uncommon for her to suggest as side trip miles out of the way to see something she thought was interesting.
Lois and Bill had seven children; Deborah, Clearwater, FLA; Gail Ruth, Malad, ID; Marianne, Clearwater, FLA; Lyle (Shauna), Salt Lake City, UT; Will (Kristen), Rockland, ID; Tom (Becky), Preston, ID; and Andy (Mark), Wilmington, DE. Raising kids is difficult enough with one, but she managed with seven and loved them all with her whole heart. She was the proud grandmother to 16 and great grandma to 10. Her family is spread all over the country.
As a journalist, Lois worked for numerous small-town newspapers. Some of these were in Challis, ID; Eureka, NV; and Malad, ID. As a writer she submitted samples to various publications and had a few published, notably one in a science fiction magazine. She wrote news stories, feature articles, and untold numbers of Primary and Sunday School talks for the children. Once she even wrote a talk on the way to church with a child on her lap using the dashboard of a Volkswagen beetle for a table.
Speaking of cars, the very first car Lois and Bill owned was a 1946 Nash. It must have been their favorite because 46 Nash was their computer password for a long time. As children arrived they had to move to larger cars, most often station wagons. The last station wagon, a 1969 Chrysler still sits behind the house in Malad. There was also a string of pickup trucks and minivans, and at one time a string of Volkswagens. Imagine if you can, Dad driving to church in a Beetle with Mom holding Tom on her lap while pregnant with Andy. Debby, Gail, and Marianne were in the backseat, and Lyle and Will squished into the cubbyhole between the rear wheels.
After she and Dad retired, Mom focused a lot of time on genealogy. It was not uncommon to find her napping, face down in her genealogy books in the middle of the day. She was proud of all the Malad families she was related to, however distant they might have been. For many years she and Dad ran the Genealogy Library one night a week, helping other people navigate websites and generally being enthusiastic about their ancestors. She has dozens of 3 and 4 inch binders with family information. Many of these binders were about one individual. In some family lines she was able to go back more than generations.
Now Lois has joined those ancestors. She was preceded in death by her parents Cliff and Lucile, her husband Bill, younger sister Joyce and younger brother Jim, and one grandson, Benjamin James Lower. She is survived by her youngest sister Nancy, and her children and grandchildren.
Mom’s funeral will be Friday, September 17, 2021 at 11:00 with a viewing just prior. It will be held at the Malad 4th Ward chapel at 150 south, 100 west, Malad, Idaho.