Lois Marie Stallard

In the quiet evening hours of April 19, 2021, Lois Marie Stallard met her Lord and Savior face to face. She passed peacefully comforted in the knowledge that she would be reunited with her loved ones in heaven.

Lois Marie Stallard was born in Sequoyah County, Roland, Oklahoma on January 2nd, 1927 to the parents of William and Margaret Allen. Her parents moved several times finally settling in Hydro Oklahoma, where she grew up. Lois was the oldest of 3 siblings, Willard Allen, Jack Allen, and Eva Hamons.

Lois grew up very poor. She shared stories of dirt floors in a one room house and hiding behind the outhouse at school to eat a lunch of cold flour biscuits and gravy wrapped in newspaper. Most of her clothes were handmade including a black coat which led to a perpetual dislike of black coats or dresses throughout her adulthood.

Around the age of 10 or 11 she was invited to a Nazarene church by a school friend. Lois asked Christ to forgive her of her sins and come in her heart. Although she didn’t feel any different at the time, this was the beginning of Christ's relentless pursuit of her over the next 20 years. Later He would tell her “even when you were only 10 I heard you.”

Job opportunities became scarce in Oklahoma, and the dust bowl forced "Okies" to migrate to California. The depression had begun and families were in pursuit of a better life, but in California most migrants had no money and lived in tents and shanty towns. Images from the "Grapes of Wrath" with mattresses on top of cars and trucks and families sleeping on the side of Route 66 paint the picture of the trip to California.

After a short stay in California, her family hearing of a bumper crop of cotton, moved back to Oklahoma. As a very young child, Lois worked in the fields picking cotton and corn. If the corn stalks were broken, Lois got in trouble. She worked alongside her father who was a sharecropper. They would work long days until her hands were bloodied from cotton bolls.

When Lois was 16, a neighbor friend told the family of truck driving opportunities at Pike View Mine in Colorado Springs. The family settled on South Prospect near what is now known as Elmer's place and Lois attended Colorado Springs High School. This was the first house Lois lived in that had running water and a bathtub.

She always had a passion for the restaurant business and as a young woman worked at several restaurants in downtown Colorado Springs. She was even part owner and partner of a small eatery. With the establishment of Camp Carson and Peterson Air Field, Colorado Springs became a military town. One of the young Air Force soldiers from Kentucky frequented a restaurant where Lois worked at the soda counter. The persistent young man repeatedly requested a date with Lois. Over several months he won her heart, and they eventually drove to Raton, New Mexico where Lois married Charles Monroe Stallard on August 13, 1948.

God put many people in her path to turn her heart toward Christ. Charles’ uncle was an anointed, hell fire Baptist preacher in Kentucky. Every time Lois and Charles would visit, he would hold a revival and insisted that Lois and Charles attend. Lois would insist that she did not want to go, and when they asked why she said she was afraid she might get saved. She later said “His preaching was so convicting. It took everything I had to stay in my seat and not go forward to the altar.”

Her son Stephen Stallard was born in 1950 and daughter, Susan Stallard was born in 1952. Lois enjoyed being a home maker and caring for her children. In 1957, Lois met her best friend Myrtle Chambon. Myrtle would talk about God and his Word and all that He had done for her. God gave Myrtle wisdom and the words to say to draw Lois toward Jesus, but Lois was stubborn.

When Steve was 7 the two children began attending a seventh day Adventist church with their Aunt, who had miraculously moved across the street from the family. Steve and Susan gave their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, and began to pray for their mother to enjoy the same relationship with Christ, but for three years Steve and Susan would attend church on Saturday and Lois would stay at home. Until on a Saturday in 1960, a voice came out of nowhere and said “You will give your heart to me today. Your children need a Christian mother.” Lois couldn’t wait to commit her life to Christ that Saturday and was the first one to the altar. Lois struggled her first week with Christ. Eventually she told Christ “I can’t serve you anymore.” God moved on her to contact Myrtle, and God used Myrtle in a mighty way to encourage Lois.

Eventually the Lord had become the love of Lois’ life. Most days she would take Steve and Susan to school and then return home to spend hours with God. She asked God to teach her to pray, and most of us here know how her prayers could move heaven and earth on our behalf. God spoke directly to Lois with visions and prophecies.

When Lois was 39, the Lord softened her heart to have another child, and Charlie Stallard was born in 1966. On April 8th, 1973 she was baptized at First Assembly. She became a very serious student of the bible with an unquenchable thirst for the Word of God. When little Charlie was in elementary school, Lois began to attend a series of bible colleges completing several yearly courses of study to include:

• Bible Study Fellowship in 1973,

• Monument Bible College in 1985 and 1991,

• And even earning a diploma of graduation in 1992.

Lois continued to serve the Lord diligently the rest of her days. In her own words, she says “God has done many wonderful things in my life. I have went through the deep valleys and through the fire, but it is where I have grown the most. He knows what is good for our lives.”

Lois’ ministry included teaching middle school and adult Sunday school classes, serving as an elder and a deacon, and leading bible studies, but her true calling was as a mentor, faithful friend, prayer warrior, and spiritual mother to struggling Christians young in the Lord.

Lois is preceded in death by her parents William and Margaret Allen, two younger brothers Willard and Jack Allen and her younger sister Eva Hamons. Lois has always been close to her sister in law Pat Allen, nephews Mike Allen, Theron Bennett, and the late David Bennett and nieces Mary Jane Hayes and Linda Hamons. Lois's eldest son Stephen Stallard and his wife Brenda blessed Lois with three granddaughters, Jennifer and her husband Clint, Jaime, and Julie and her husband Rico. Susan's son Matthew is her only beloved grandson. He is married to Rose. Lois was blessed with 10 beautiful great grandchildren. One of her favorite things to say was “where is my purse? I need to give the great grandkids some money.” Jennifer and her husband Clint Walker are parents of Joshua, Jonah, and Marissa Bullock. Julie and Ricco Adams are parents to four children, Amara, Ky-mani, Keoni, and Kyrie. Matthew and Rose Backs are parents to three children, Olivia, Eleanor, and Dalton.