Lois Irene Smueles

Lois Smueles of Westminster, Colorado, died April 9, 2026 at Arbor View Senior Living in Arvada, Colorado, just two months short of 105 years old. Lois was born on June 9, 1921 on a farm near Joy, Illinois to Earl and Nellie Morrow. Following High School, Lois attended a Beautician School in Moline, Illinois and while there met her landlord’s brother, John Smueles Jr., her future husband.

Following a short period at the Aberdeen Army Proving Grounds in Maryland, where her husband was stationed prior to being shipped out to Burma during WW2, Lois and her newborn son, John Ronald, moved back to Joy, Illinois until after her husband returned following the end of the war. Lois and husband John welcomed their second son, Robert, in 1950 and about a year later moved to Colorado where her husband studied Pharmacy at the University

of Colorado.

In addition to being a beautician and hairdresser, Lois was a skilled seamstress, sewing clothing and home furnishings for herself and her family, creating dolls for children, and making much needed sewn goods for charitable organizations. She considered her primary role to be homemaker, managing the household finances and all the chores of running a home and raising two boys. She also enjoyed camping, fishing, and sightseeing in the mountains of

Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington and was second to none with her culinary skills in the kitchen. Her apple pie was legendary among her friends and family.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Lane Morrow; sister, Mildred Nelson; her son, John Ronald; and husband, John. She is survived by her son, Robert and daughter-in-law, Carlyn of Vashon, Washington.

No memorial services are planned. Flowers or donations may be sent to Arbor View Senior Living Apartments, 8001 W. 71st Ave., Arvada, CO, 80004.