Lois Ann Gordon

Lois Ann Gordon passed away in her home in Tyler on July 11, 2013 surrounded by her family and supported by her many dear friends. She was 85 years old. A memorial service will be held in the chapel at Marvin United Methodist Church, Tuesday, July 16th at 2:00p.m., Rev. Marty Dunbar officiating. Family visitation will be Monday, July 15th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lloyd James Funeral Home in Tyler.

Lois was born on March 12, 1928 to the late Robert Kenneth and Jesse Ruth (Shaw) Beacham in Danville, Illinois. The family soon moved to Indiana where Lois grew up with her brothers Bob and Jim. She graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis and received a B.S. degree in microbiology from Purdue University in 1950, while she majored in contract bridge as a member of Alpha Xi Delta. On September 2, 1950 she wed WWII veteran William Clayton Gordon, Jr. in Baylor Chapel and soon thereafter followed him to Alemeda, California when he was called back into the Navy to serve in the Korean conflict.

Following discharge from the Navy the couple came back to the Midwest to make their home as Bill returned to his career with John Deere. The company moved its managers every few years and Lois repeatedly packed up the family and put down new roots throughout their life together. Wherever they lived she would always plant a Tropicana rose. Bill and Lois lived in Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, with their final transfer bringing them to Dallas, Texas. After retirement in 1982 Bill and Lois moved to Tyler, where they joined Marvin Methodist Church and Briarwood Country Club. Bill was active in Kiwanis and the Service Core of Retired Executives.

Lois was an active member and officer of the East Texas Genealogical Society, a devoted painting student of Nancy Berkhouse, and an accomplished bridge player. Lois's longstanding interest in genealogy led her to compile many ancestral records and culminated in her achieving admission into the Mary Tyler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2010.

Although she did not consider herself an artist she leaves behind many beautiful paintings and stained glass windows. She loved to travel and thought nothing of getting behind the wheel of her Cadillac and driving half way across the country. She was devoted to Fox News and contributed faithfully to organizations serving disabled veterans.

She made many lasting friendships and although she was not a native Texan she quickly came to consider Tyler to be her home. She lost her husband in 1992 and thereafter her friends were truly like family to her.

She is preceded in death by her husband Bill, her parents Bob and Ruth, her brother Robert Beacham, his wife Sara, and their son Michael Beacham, Bill's parents William Clayton Sr. and Agnes Dickson (Sanderson) Gordon, Bill's sisters Carolyn (Gordon) Kunkle and Jean (Gordon) Ladd and their husbands Donald Kunkle and Kenneth Ladd, as well as her brother-in-law James Smith, and her niece and nephew Janet and Bruce Ladd.

She is survived by her daughter Ruthann Gordon and granddaughter Lauren Elizabeth Kohn; her son William Kenneth Gordon, his wife Carmen (Flores) Gordon, grandson Adriel Flores and his wife Angela and their children Addie and Aiden Flores, and grandson William Robert Gordon; brother James Russell Beacham and his wife Rosemary (Adams) Beacham, their son Scott Beacham and his wife Dawn, and their daughter Deborah Handorf and her husband Erich and their families; niece Kathie (Beacham) Pitts and her husband Ron, Barbara (Beacham) Schrader and her husband Phil, Linda (Weaver) Beacham and all of their families; sister-in-law Margaret (Gordon) Smith and her daughter Sandra (Smith) Smith and her husband Greg and Margaret's son Jay Gordon Smith and his wife Rita and their families; nephews Steven Kunkle and his wife Holly, Jeffery Kunkle and his wife Sindi and their families.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank Cindy Landrum, Tommy Thomasson, Kay Bates and Dr. Eric Smith for their care and support through the years, all the wonderful doctors and nurses who contributed so much to her well-being, the excellent staff at Health South Rehabilitation Hospital, and finally, everyone at Hospice of East Texas. Lois was truly blessed in her neighbors and friends, to whom the family is sincerely grateful.

Lois succumbed to lung cancer, as did her beloved husband Bill. Their manner of passing from this life offers a sad reminder to stop smoking right now.

In lieu of flowers the family invites donations to Hospice of East Texas or to Marvin United Methodist Church Missions.