Lois Margaret Fernandez

The life, love and accomplishments of Lois Margaret Rutland Fernandez will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, October 14, 2016 at Carolina Memorial Park in North Charleston, S.C. Lois, born on December 8, 1926 to Oscar and Lou Brown Rutland, was the “baby” to ten other siblings. She passed on many stories of life on the farm in Neeses, S.C. surrounded and supported by her large family. Her love of people drew Lois to nursing at an early age and she became a “nurse cadet” during WWII in Charleston. There, she met her life partner, a handsome Navy seaman from California, John Fernandez. They were married and raised two children, Larry and Luanne. She relished the lifestyle and challenges of being a Navy wife. But when the ships left port, Lois would always return home to the farm, her lifelong friends and extended family. Lois always loved books, knowledge and medicine. This lead to the proud attainment of a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Charleston Southern University in 1981. She may have been the eldest of her class, but she was young at heart and garnered the respect of her fellow students and instructors. She spent the next ten years practicing her craft in the operating rooms of the Medical University of South Carolina. The young doctors were her “boys” and she had a special relationship with each of them and her patients. Retirement was a busy time for Lois, as her grandchildren and great grandchildren became her passion. Two of her grandsons, John and Baker, call the Charleston area home, while Matthew and family live in Kansas. Julie followed in “Grams” footsteps, both as the baby of the family and military wife. She and her family currently reside in Great Britain. Grandpa passed away in 2005 but Lois carried on, always looking forward to entertaining her six great-grandchildren, enjoying the company and interests of her children and grandchildren. They will always tell stories of Lois’s lifelong love of animals, her passion for reading and devotion to her daily “soap operas.” In that spirit, her family hopes those who wish to memorialize her life do so with donations to the Charleston Animal Society or Fins Attached Marine Resource and Conservation. October 9, 2016, just shy of her 90th birthday, Lois’s heart could beat no more. But her smile, laugh and spirit shall continue to reside with the many lives she touched. A graveside service will be held on Friday, October 14th at 1100 am in Carolina Memorial Park , 7113 Rivers Ave , North Charleston, South Carolina .