Lois V. Draayer

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6. Lois passed into eternal life unexpectedly and tragically on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. She will be missed deeply by many to whom she was a constant source of strength and help, most of all her beloved husband of 45 years, Jerry, and her three daughters, Leah, Sarah, and Martha. She will be remembered as beloved "Oma" by her eight grandchildren whom she loved with all her heart. Above all Lois loved the Lord Jesus and served him all her life through her gifts of hospitality, friendship, music and prayer. Lois' roots are in rural Iowa, born in Sully on Dec. 26, 1943, but she moved with Jerry to Baton Rouge in 1975. She was a 1962 graduate of Lynnville-Sully High School in Lynnville, Iowa, attended Oak Hills Bible College in Bemidji, Minn., and was trained as a licensed practical nurse in Ames, Iowa. After marrying Jerry in 1964, the couple lived in Ames, Copenhagen, Denmark, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Rochester, N.Y., welcoming their three daughters while Jerry pursued an academic career in nuclear physics before settling in Baton Rouge. In Baton Rouge, Lois enjoyed a 30-year career in real estate and was known affectionately as "Mama Lois" by her colleagues at C.J. Brown Realtors. Lois never knew a stranger and was generous to all in need. She prepared countless dinners and celebrations for Jerry's many graduate students and colleagues at LSU. She opened their home to numerous internationals, church groups, the university community, Katrina refugees and even a Nobel laureate. She served her church family at University Baptist for 33 years. Lois also served the community in numerous educational, musical and humanitarian organizations, including the Baton Rouge Symphony, the Louisiana Youth Orchestra, the Junior Great Books program, the Baton Rouge Board of Realtors, the Campus Club and Chapter K of PEO. Lois was loved by so many because she was a servant to so many. Lois was preceded in death by her father, Wilburn Van Wyk. She leaves behind her mother, Frances Van Wyk, of Sully; husband, Jerry Paul Draayer, of Baton Rouge; four brothers and sisters, Vernon Van Wyk, of Grinnell, Iowa, Bruce Van Wyk, of Colorado Springs, Colo., Louise Walling, of Austin, Texas, and Barbara Johnson, of Woodbury, Minn.; three daughters and their husbands, Leah and Patrick McDowell, of Jackson, Miss., Sarah and Brent Milligan, of Nashville, Tenn., and Martha and Kyle Duncan, of Baton Rouge; and eight grandchildren, Jamey McDowell, Claire McDowell, Ben Milligan, Anna Kate Milligan, Meghan Milligan, Joseph Duncan, Thomas Duncan, and Michael Duncan. Visitation at University Baptist Church, 5775 Highland Road, on Sunday, Nov. 22, was from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visitation resumes at the church on Monday, Nov. 23, from 9 a.m. until service at 10 a.m., conducted by Dr. George A. Haile. Arrangements by Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government St.