Lois Jean Hedges was born on April 21, 1935, in Grand Rapids, ND. She was raised with her two brothers, and, after losing her mother at an early age, stepped in to care for her brothers and father as they moved around the country for their work as cement finishers.
After living the peregrine life as a youth, Lois went to business school in Albuquerque, NM, and then settled in Oklahoma to raise her three children. She used her skillset to provide bookkeeping services at Hedges, Hampton, and Hedges CPA firm and the offices of Kenneth H. Lingle, CPA. After years of providing services for others, she ventured out on her own and opened her own bookkeeping and tax preparation services. Her ex-husband even hired her, because as he said, “She was the best at what she does.” She continued working well into her 80s. Her clients became her friends and many were heartbroken when she finally ended her career. She loved her work and took it very seriously. If the numbers didn’t balance, she wouldn’t stop until every discrepancy was found.
True to her German heritage (her grandparents, children at the time, fled Germany and immigrated to America), she was fiercely strong-willed. She was a tough little lady. Standing at only about 5’ 1”, she would stand toe-to-toe with people over a foot taller to tell them how the cow ate the cabbage. As stubborn as she could be, she would defend those she loved with all she had to give. She put her children’s needs before her own, but later in life found it difficult to accept the favor in return. She forced payment on kids for chores they performed for her, and was often heard saying, “I would’ve had to pay someone else anyway, and probably more.”
She enjoyed reminiscing about places she had been before and sometimes travelled to Arizona to visit her brother Butch. Together, they would sightsee and enjoy each other’s company. Although she considered leaving Oklahoma, she stayed to be close to her family. She loved the lake and spent many weekends there: first camping, then a houseboat, cabin cruiser, and finally the cabin on the shore of Lake Eufaula. She spent most weekends there relaxing with a good book, fishing and boating with friends and family, or working in the yard. Some of her favorite memories revolved around the cabin: taking the grandkids fishing in her boat the “Raisin Tub” or making her ever-famous lake eggs and mini-meatloaves.
As the matriarch, Lois took it upon herself to host family gatherings at the holidays. She would spend days preparing the pies for Thanksgiving, and sometimes a week or more doing her Christmas baking for family, friends, and clients. There have been fights over all of her pies, and annual pleadings to “Please remember mine next year” when it came to her perfect apple pies. She would often gritch, but was heartbroken when it became too much to handle. She struggled to prepare small meals once the kids had grown and moved on; she’d complain that things just didn’t come out right when trying to pare down a recipe, such as a recipe for potato salad that started with 10 pounds of potatoes.
Beyond numbers, she showed the same skill in balancing her life. She was creative and enjoyed doing crafts, from Christmas ornaments to stuffed animals. An excellent seamstress, Lois made many of her children’s clothes and tailored suits for her husband. She had a love for music and reading, and you could often find her curled up on the couch with a mystery or romance novel while listening to the stereo. Some of her favorite outings included loading up in the car on the weekend and hitting all the local garage sales; on one occasion, ending the day with a trunk full of jigsaw puzzles that took us years to complete.
Though steady and true, she could be a risk taker or go for a little adventure now and then. In her younger years, she and her cousin were known on occasion to “paint the town red,” on one occasion, literally! Or maybe the time her boys tried to teach her to ride a motorcycle; which fortunately did no damage to the fence or the motorcycle, and, with her hard head, she received no damage either.
Lois passed away from pneumonia-related COVID-19 on November 6. She was preceded in death by her brother Don Schock; her son Wayne Hedges; and her grandson Eric Edwards.
She is survived by brother Ed (Butch) Schock; daughter Peggy Davis and her husband Tony; son Roger Hedges and his wife Christi; 7 grandchildren ; 9 great-grandchildren; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Graveside services will be Saturday, November 21, at 3 pm at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Oklahoma City. Those attending are asked to please wear a mask. There will also be a live Facebook feed arranged through the Bill Merritt Funeral Home in Bethany.
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