Lois was born on April 3rd, 1932 in Hartford to the late Louis Ackley Strong and Mildred Marie Jepsen briefly residing in Manchester, before settling in East Hartford, Connecticut. She graduated and attended East Hartford High School, Class of 1950.
She is survived and will be dearly missed by her sons: Richard Harvey Coleman, his wife Shay of Chatham, New Jersey and their daughters Alexandra, Meredith and Elizabeth. David Arthur Coleman, his wife Emon and their children Chai-Dan and Chanya of Sitka, Alaska.
Her daughters: Diane Louise Edington, her husband Scott Edington of Mansfield, Connecticut and their children Sean, Connor and Aurora. Susan Lynn Coleman of Willington, Connecticut, and her children Hailey, Lauren and Dane. Carolyn Marie Coleman-Burke, her husband Kevin Burke and their son, Brendan of Jackson, Wyoming. Beth Ann Coleman, her partner Todd Hedges and his sons Andrew and Luke, of Higganum, Connecticut.
Her Sister: Carol Ann Hoffman and her husband Raymond Hoffman of Glastonbury Connecticut.
Her brothers: Warren Ackley Strong and his wife Nora of Bozrah, Connecticut. Peter Arnold Strong of Glastonbury, Connecticut.
Her adored neighbors, Wendy Peek and Donald Adams of East Hartford, and her longtime friend and companion Robert Fitzgerald of East Hartford, Connecticut.
She is predeceased by her dear sister, Dora Althea Santo-Christo of Vernon, Connecticut.
Lois was the quintessential mother against which all could be measured. Made from scratch meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner - for a family of 8 were standard every day of the week. There were hand sewn Easter dresses in the Spring, homemade strawberry jam and canned tomatoes in the Summer, her absolutely legendary apple pies in the Fall, and a new Christmas craft every Winter. Lois managed the household budget with skill and deftness that allowed all 6 children the opportunity to attend college, all 4 girls to have a wedding, with a bit left over for her little dream cottage by the lake in East Hampton.
Lois was a devoted and supportive wife, a voracious reader, a ruthless Scrabble player and, in her youth, an avid tennis player. Her love of gardening was inescapable flowers eventually subsumed the entire yard; and yet that may only be matched by her love of baking. Cookies, sweetbreads, fudge, muffins, birthday cakes, those legendary pies and every kind of biscotti were churned out with love and abandon almost daily. She sang to herself constantly, loved musicals, theatre, the Goodspeed Opera House, Book Club, Garden Club and being a part of the EHHS Class of 1950 reunion committee. Care-giving was in her makeup, as she was a key participant in Women’s Club, Meals on Wheels, and her local South Congregational Church and their Choir for over 50 years. She often said she truly loved being a mother and extended that love and care to not only her children, but to her children’s friends, college roommates and any wayward pets and injured wildlife that inevitably followed them home.
Lois cared for her family with a single-minded focus that could not be matched. She was the axis around which all things in our home revolved, and the gravitational pull that held our family together. Our mother lived every day with a song in her heart and though she will be desperately missed by family, friends and neighbors, her impact on our lives and world will never fade.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 11am on April 6th at South Congregational Church. 1301 Forbes St, East Hartford, CT 06118. Memorial donations in her memory may be made to the same.
