Lois Allen Coleman

Lois Jayne Allen Coleman was born on May 5, 1923, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma; she was the daughter, and second child, of Herbert and Inez Allen. Per her wishes, Lois died at home on September 21 at the delightful age of 102.

Her family moved to California in 1932, during the depression, as her father was told he could find employment there. All four of them loaded up their 1926 Chevy and began the journey west, complete with her pet parakeet in a bird cage hanging from the roof of the car. They arrived in California in time for the Summer Olympics, and she had impressionable memories of walking around the Olympic Stadium gathering signatures from the athletes. She always remembered the earthquake of 1923 and what a scary time it was living outside their little bungalow for a week, while aftershocks occurred and the damage was assessed. It was during these times that Lois developed a resourceful and thrifty lifestyle that stayed with her throughout her life.

The Allen family lived in Torrance, California for the remainder of her upbringing, and she graduated from Torrance High School in 1940. While living in Torrance, she became best friends with six other girls who graduated together, and they remained friends for the duration of their lifetimes; she is the last of those girls to pass on. Lois continued her education at Compton Junior College, earning her AA degree in 1942, but she couldn’t afford further schooling. During the remainder of WWII, she worked in an office as a comptometer operator and then worked in a lab at General Petroleum. She knew she needed to go back to school, so she saved all her earnings. At the same time, polio was running rampant in Los Angeles, and there was a dire need for physical therapists. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (March of Dimes) was offering scholarships to people interested in pursuing a career in that field; she applied, became a recipient, and graduated from UCLA in 1948, completing her residency at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Lois loved her chosen discipline and was dedicated to her profession. It was also during this time that she met Wayne Coleman on the S.S. Catalina cruising from the Port of Los Angeles to Avalon. She discovered that this handsome pilot, fresh from the Army Air Corp, was also attending UCLA, and they dated for three years before marrying on August 26, 1949.

Wayne and Lois purchased their first home in Culver City, California where their daughters Lynn and Robyn were born. They built their home in Glendora in 1958 and moved in two weeks before their third daughter, Nancy, was born. The following year a son, Richard, arrived to complete the family. She loved being a wife and mother and ran her household of organized chaos with a steady hand, lots of cookies, love, and laughter. Lois was spontaneous in her sense of adventure and fun, always with a sugary treat available. When the four children reached their teens, Lois returned to work part time for a local physical therapy practice to save funds for their education. (Or, it might have been to take a break from four teenagers.) Eventually, she progressed into full time work as an Independent Contractor for the Visiting Nurses Association of

East San Gavriel Valley and reveled in being able to work with patients in their home environment.

Upon retirement, Lois and Wayne procured a travel trailer and had the time of their lives traveling around the United States, from Key West, Florida to salmon fishing in Alaska. They also toured the world; her favorite trip was time spent in Africa observing all the wildlife. However, her most beloved trips were time spent with another form of wildlife, her grandchildren. She and Wayne attended Christmas pageants, church musicals, sporting events, birthdays, graduations, and took them camping in the trailer. Lois was a steadfast member of PEO Chapter YA and loved all her PEO sisters. She also worked as a volunteer at City of Hope and Cullen Elementary School. Her love of music and song began as a young child singing with her parents at home and on Sunday car trips for entertainment. Her toes would tap whenever she heard a tune from the 1940’s, and in her super-senior years she took great delight in being a member of the Glendora Senior Center’s group, Sing for Joy, which she joined at the age of 95. As a member of Glenkirk Church for 53 years, she was active in couple’s small groups, bible studies, Women’s Ministries, and baking dozens of cookies for Wednesday night programs. Lois was a Christian whose greatest joy was that all four of her children accepted Jesus as their Savior.

The most difficult times of her life were watching her son, Richard, battle Hodgkin’s Disease, passing away at the age of 24. Then 30 years later, breast cancer claimed the life of her third daughter, Nancy. Her husband of 70 years, Wayne, left for heaven in 2019, after two years of compromised health during which time she diligently cared for him at home.

Lois will be remembered for her strong work ethic, her friendly smile and twinkling eyes, sense of humor, curiosity, wonder of the world God made, her continual drive to learn and study: but most importantly her love of anything edible, and cooking for family and friends. Her motto of “choosing joy” is a gift to remember when difficulties arise.

Lois is survived by her devoted daughters Lynn Coleman of Glendora and Robyn Dodson (Jerry) of Fleming Island, Florida; her dear grandchildren, Ben Whitehair (Jess), Jerry Coleman-Dodson, Jake Whitehair (Amber), Richard Coleman-Dodson (Madison), Nikki Cook (Cory), Faleena Barter (Michael); precious great-grandchildren, Clover, Cooper, Coleman, Jaxon, Arther, Owen, Calvin; numerous nieces and nephews; and a bevy of dearly loved friends. Graveside Service is at 9 a.m. on November 21 at Oakdale Mortuary, Glendora followed by a Memorial Service at 1 p.m. at Glenkirk Church in Glendora, California. Donations may be made in her memory to: City of Hope, Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Ships, or Glenkirk’s family and children’s ministries.