Lois Ellen Brandt

Lois was born on Aug 23, 1927 in Portland, OR to Walter Henry Francis Schmidt and Madeline Aneta Rhodes. After graduating from Girls' Polytechnic High School, she moved with her family to Hermiston, OR to help in her father’s plumbing business. There she met the love of her life, Harold Lewis Brandt, and they married in 1949 in a double wedding with her sister Geri. The couple moved to King County, WA in 1954 to start their family, where they raised their two beloved children, Cheryl and Eric.

The eldest of five sisters, Lois cherished her role as family matriarch. She was generous without measure to her family, friends, and community, delighting in the ability to share her knowledge, love, time or resources. Lois was a naturally gifted artist and photographer, and never left home without her camera bag. She took thousands of pictures, filling an entire room in her home with photo albums.

Lois aided Hal in his real estate business, which included building their family home in Newport Hills where she lived for over 60 years and developing Cheryl Lee Heights in Maple Valley where their daughter and family live. Lois’ love of the outdoors and natural spaces compelled her to spearhead the creation of Coal Creek Park in Bellevue. Lois spent hours upon hours exploring her cherished creek and decided to take action to preserve this greenspace for future generations. Lois personally met with many farmers who owned adjacent land and convinced them all to sell a portion of their property to King County for preservation purposes.

Hal & Lois lived part-time on Orcas Island where they built their dream cabin, designed by Lois, in the 1960’s. Together, they purchased a local marina which Lois managed for years, and developed the adjacent land into Smuggler’s Villa Resort. Lois and Hal shared their love of the Island with countless people over the years. They organized huge family reunions making the San Juan Islands a special place for generations of Schmidts and Brandts. Lois also hosted a yearly Sisters’ Reunion at the cabin for over two decades where the five sisters enjoyed sharing family stories, walks on the beach, doing art projects, and just being together.

Lois is preceded in death by her husband Hal, her mother and father, and her sisters Geraldine Mae Oberg and Marjorie Joan and Glenard Tabor, sisters and brothers-in-law Carol and Ray Hunt, Ethel and Paul Roesch, Lillian and Ray Brandt, Mabel and Clifton Brandt, ,

her life-long best friend Kathy Barker and nephews Phil Oberg, Brett Oberg, David Wilson & Robert Brandt.

Lois is survived by her children Cheryl Lee Castagna (husband Bob) and Carl Eric Brandt, her baby sisters Gail Anita Wilson and Wallis Henriette Schmidt, her grandchildren Anthony Lewis Castagna, Nicholas Lee Castagna, Rion Nicole Brandt and wife Savannah, her great-grandchildren Sophia Rose & Jayden Gabriel Castagna, cousins Ernie Schmidt and Steve Schmidt, and dozens of adoring nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue, WA on December 7th, 2023 at 1:00 PM, Visitation at 11:00 AM.