Lois Chabris

Lois Chabris, 79, of Madison, passed away September 20, 2012 at home. She was born October 12, 1932 in East Pittsburgh, PA to Francis and Margaret (Milko) Fitzgerald. Lois is preceded in death by her parents, her brother Harold Fitzgerald, and her sister Dolores Mizla. She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Daniel Chabris; her son Christopher Chabris, his wife Michelle Meyer, and her grandson Caleb Meyer-Chabris, all of Saratoga Springs, NY; her sister Betty Cardone and her husband Philip of Murrysville, PA; and her brother Dennis Jancef of Rhode Island.

Lois graduated from Turtle Creek high school in 1950 and attended Clarion State Teachers College in Clarion, both in Pennsylvania. She became a flight attendant for American Airlines in 1955, where she was based at LaGuardia Airport in New York. While she lived in New York City, Lois counted as friends many actors and other theater people. A highlight of her career was having President Eisenhower as a passenger. She rose to a supervisory position and trained other flight attendants before retiring in 1964. Later she was an active volunteer for the elementary school in Briarcliff Manor, NY; and the North Castle Public Library, the North Castle Historical Society, and the Green Acres Garden Club, all in Armonk, NY. She was the treasurer for the latter two organizations, and left them in good financial health. Lois loved the novels of Jane Austen and the music of Tony Bennett, but her greatest passion was for all forms of gardening. She was skilled and enthusiastic in her cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Lois was liked by almost everyone she met: her only enemies were the deer, squirrels, and other animals that sometmes seemed to exist only to thwart her horticultural ambitions. She will be missed by all who knew her, including, or perhaps especially, those creatures.

Family and friends are invited to meet and attend a Funeral Mass on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 11:00 AM at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church, 24 Academy Street, Madison, CT. Flowers may be sent to Swan Funeral Home, 825 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 06443.