Lois Elizabeth Fincher, only child of Eva and Fred Fincher, was born November 19, 1928, in Kewanee, IL. She grew up in that small town, graduating from Kewanee High School in 1946. She attended Bradley Univ. in Peoria, IL, for two years before transferring to the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, where she earned a BA degree in education in 1950. While there, she met Roderick Briggs, a fellow art student, and they married soon after graduation. The couple lived and worked in Savannah, GA for twenty months before moving to Athens, GA, to earn their masters’ degrees in June, 1954, from the University of Georgia.
The couple next moved to Long Beach, CA where Lois taught art classes at Marshall Jr. High, Wilson, and Lakewood High Schools during the next 32 years, retiring in 1986. Lois and Rod moved to their Seal Beach home in 1958, where they remained for many happy years. Blessed with uncommon kindness coupled with an outgoing personality, she was a widely admired teacher who inspired a number of her students to follow careers in the visual arts. Lois was an avid swimmer, hiker, and athlete. In her middle years, she climbed the east face of Mt. Whitney, hiked the Himalayas of Nepal, the Swiss Alps, Mr. Rainier, Mammoth Crest trails in the Sierras, and biked the coast of Maine. After retirement, Lois and her artist husband traveled extensively.
A loving wife, mother, and grandmother, she is survived by her son, Cameron Briggs, and one grandson, William Briggs. She was predeceased by her husband Roderick in 2017. Lois will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. A memorial service is pending at this time.
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