Lois Anne McKinney

Lois Anne McKinney, 81, a longtime resident of Lake Oswego, passed away November 11, 2017. She was born on the island of Kauai October 12, 1936 and lived there with her parents and sister until moving to Lake Oswego in 1948. She graduated from Lake Oswego High School and kept many good friends from her early years in Oregon. Lois belonged to the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma while attending the University of Oregon and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1958.

Lois married Warren McKinney December 27, 1958. They met while attending a summer school course at Portland State University. She was looking forward to celebrating 59 years of marriage in a few weeks.

Lois began working as a teacher following college but soon became well known as an artist crafting handmade wooden ornaments of many shapes, themes, and colors. She was one of the early members of LOCAL 14, an artists’ guild based in Lake Oswego and enjoyed many good friends from those years as well. Her last profession before retiring in 1997 was as the Food Service Director for Lake Oswego Schools where she earned a reputation for insisting on providing quality meals to both students and staff. During her tenure fast food was not the norm in school cafeterias.

An avid reader, Lois delighted in thousands of stories, mostly romance novels. There were always several collections of books next to one of her reading chairs, referred to as “to read”, “donate”, and “return”. She greatly enjoyed her garden and patio filled with an assortment of vegetables and flowers, still pouring through gardening catalogs to her last days. A self-proclaimed professional organizer, not much in her house was safe from a new box, shelf, or the label maker.

Lois and Mac spent many years on their second home, a 30 foot sailboat moored near Cathlamet, Washington where again many friendships developed.

She is survived by husband Warren McKinney, sister Sue Collins, children Michael, Jerry, Kathleen (Giramur), 9 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren and countless friends.

A private service for immediate family will be held at Willamette National Cemetery. In recognition of Lois’ active network of friends and a desire to share stories and celebrate her life, there will be a reception January 13, 2018 12:00-2:00 p.m. at the Lake Oswego Adult Community Center, Dogwood Room. Please join us at http://www.ilasting.com/loismckinney/comments.php for online condolences and details.