A burial service for Lois V. Beers, age 89, will be held on December 19, at 1:00 PM in the Greenhill Cemetery in Muskogee, Oklahoma. A memorial service will be held on December 20 at 11:00 AM at Christ United Methodist Church in Enid, Oklahoma, with Pastor Jim Jones officiating.

    Lois’ life story is one not often heard any longer.  She was the younger daughter of Lena (White) Beers and Charles Beers, born in 1919 in Wimbledon, North Dakota.  Her mother was one of the first female college graduates in northern Iowa, having ridden her horse miles every day through the harsh Iowa winters to complete her education.  After graduation, Lois’ mother traveled alone by train across the prairie to rural Wimbledon, North Dakota to teach in the one-room school house there; while teaching, she met Lois’ father.  Charles and Lena Beers then moved Lois and her older sister Mary to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where Lena’s parents and siblings had settled after the third land run. 

    After Lois’ graduation from Muskogee Central High School, she took her degree at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, where she was a lifelong member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.  After graduation she moved to Bartlesville to begin work for Phillips Petroleum, where she remained until her retirement.  After years in Bartlesville, Lois moved to Washington, DC where she for years managed the filing of all Phillips patents with the U.S. Patent Office.  It is a tribute to Lois’ dedication and skill that after her retirement Phillips had to hire two persons to manage the patent workload she had always done alone.

    Always an enthusiastic traveler, Lois took her elderly parents on annual car trips all over the country before their deaths, and later visited numerous countries around the world.  Lois never met a stranger, and never let a foreign language prevent her from communicating with people she met.  The keepsakes and gifts she collected from her trips were treasured by family and friends.  She was an active alumna member and national officer of Alpha Sigma Alpha, and in 1991 established the Lois V. Beers Scholarship in memory of her sister Mary Beers Wiggins, who predeceased her.  She additionally volunteered and was a donor for the Washington, DC chapter of Christmas in April, now known as Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit organization dedicated to renovating and remodeling homes for low income persons, especially retired persons and those with disabilities.

    After her retirement in Washington, DC, Lois was for several years a resident of Huntsville, Arkansas.  She moved to Enid several years ago, where she was a well-liked resident of Sterling House Assisted Living Facility, and at time of death was a resident and official ambassador of The Arbors Assisted Living Centre. She was a member of Christ Methodist Church of Enid. Lois is survived by her loving cousins: Charles (JoAnne) White of San Diego, California, Betty Lou Swan and family of Tulsa, Sally (Lynn) Phillips and her family of Enid, Cheryl White and her family of San Leandro, California, Leslie White of Rancho Santa Fe, California, Nancy Passovoy and her family of Mukilteo, Washington, and the many friends and former co-workers in Washington, DC., Huntsville, Arkansas, Muskogee, and Enid.  She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.   Hers was truly a life well lived.

      Memorials may be made to Christ United Methodist Church, Alpha Sigma Alpha Foundation, Lois Beers Scholarship Fund, Madison County Pet Shelter, or the Huntsville United Methodist Church of Huntsville, AR.