Lois E. Gilbert

AUBURN- Lois E. Gilbert, 96, lifelong resident of Lewiston, peacefully left us on Sunday, April 14, 2024, surrounded by loved ones. Lois was born on April 3, 1928 to George A. Earley and Gladys F. Smith Earley in Sabattus, Maine. She grew up in a loving home and was very active in church and school activities. While attending Sabattus High School, Lois, 16, began working at the Webster Rubber Company in Sabattus working for the War Effort trimming rubber soles for soldier’s and sailor’s shoes and boots. She was employed there until she married the love of her life, Henry Gilbert in 1971. Together they began Gilbert Construction Company in Lewiston, Lois as business manager until her retirement in 2011 at the age of 83.

When she retired, she started coloring and her gifted use of color was evident in her finished work as she found comfort and peace in a new art form. Lois was an avid genealogist for over 50 years. She loved to help others with their family genealogy, was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Mayflower Society. She believed doing genealogy helped keep her mind alert and sharp and did genealogy until her death. She enjoyed reading and held a diverse home library, had a great love of music especially the 1940’s and was a stamp collector. Her special joy was going to Florida with Henry to their winter home by the ocean or lake, always having a jigsaw puzzle going and happily going to baseball games especially during spring training.

During the Covid 19 pandemic Lois suffered the loss of her beloved Henry so she learned to use Skype at 92, and Skyped daily, which helped her cope with her grief. She would often use two computers, one to Skype and one to do genealogy with a fellow genealogist. Grateful for all the help her nieces and nephews gave her and not wanting to put a strain on them, Lois learned how to order things she needed on line.

Lois’ quiet and often wry sense of humor was infectious. She loved to laugh, tease and surprise people and make others smile and feel welcome and wanted. Lois felt her most important relationships were with God and family. She prayed and meditated on Bible passages daily with her special cousin Midge. She embodied the best of qualities: unconditional love, generosity, strength of spirit and unending kindness. She exceeded the limits of what one might expect a 96-year-old to be able to do. Even at the end Lois found a way to laugh and smile. Always the lady she carried herself with dignity and strength, never wanting to be a burden to anyone. Lois had a special love and gratitude for her family, friends, and caregivers that have been journeying with her through these past years. She is survived by up to four generations of nieces, nephews and cousins. She will be forever missed.

A Funeral Mass honoring Lois’ life will be celebrated on Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Family Church. Committal services will follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery. . Those wishing may make donations in Lois’s memory to: Maine Mill Museum, 35 Canal Street, Lewiston, ME 04240 or Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice, 15 Strawberry Ave., Lewiston, ME 04240.

Visitation will be held on Friday, April 19, 2024 from 3-7 p.m. at The Fortin Group Funeral Homes newest location Pinette Dillingham & Lynch Funeral Home 305 Alfred A. Plourde Pkwy in Lewiston, 784-4023. Online condolences and sharing of memories may be expressed at www.thefortingrouplewiston.com .