Lois Bernadette Curci

Lois Bernadette Schmid, one of five children, was born into a farming family on April 12, 1926. Lois’s maternal great grand grandfather, Thomas Roche, born in Ireland in 1824, immigrated to the United States. In 1854 Thomas Roche married Bridget Cullinan Lois’s great grandmother and homesteaded in Avon Minnesota on a farm in 1868. In 1872, Lois’s grandfather William B. Roche was born in Avon Minnesota and married Elizabeth Keppers in 1893. Lois’s mother Luella Roche, one of nine children, was born in 1897.

Lois’s paternal great grandfather Joseph Schmid was born in 1830 in Wittenberg Germany. In 1848, he immigrated to the United States and homesteaded in Minnesota on a 160-acre farm in 1855. Her father Edward Schmid, one of thirteen children, was born in 1893 to Gertrude (Vos) and Frank Schmid. Edward married Luella Roche and ran the Schmid Elevator and Lumber Company.

Lois and her siblings served in the United States armed forces during World War II. Lois was a cadet nurse in training at the St. Cloud Hospital. Donald, Lee and William were all overseas at the same time, Donald as a B-24 pilot, Lee as a gunner on a B17 out of England and William with Patton’s Third Army landing on Omaha Beach.

During nurses training at St. Cloud Hospital, Lois was introduced to Milton Bernard Buettner (Bud) who was a brother of Jane Buettner, Lois’s close friend also in nurses training. Shortly after their introduction, Bud and Lois married in 1946 and moved to California where Bud became an executive in the insurance industry. They eventually had five children, Barbara Lee (Downing) (1947), John Randolph Buettner (1950), Scott Edward Buettner (1954), Bradley James Buettner (1957) and Jay Thomas Buettner (1958).

In 1965 Bud and Lois with family in tow moved to a new waterfront community in Huntington Beach, where they enjoyed the “Southern California” lifestyle. The family enjoyed all the things offered by Southern California including the beaches, the desert in La Quinta and Catalina Island. While Bud and Lois played many rounds of golf and tennis in La Quinta, Lois was most fond of Catalina Island spending many summers on their boat the “Good Bud” in Cherry Cove. Bud Buettner passed in December 1994 and Lois eventually moved to Lido Island in Newport Beach.

Lois developed a warm and loving relationship with John Curci from Newport Beach and married in 2004. John passed in 2005 and Lois remained in Newport Beach, playing bridge with her close friends. Over the last several years, many wonderful days and meaningful moments were spent with her dear friend and caretaker Ella Runner.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Lois' memory may be made to Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center, 39000 Bob Hope Dr., Rancho Mirage, California 92270 US, https://eisenhowerhealth.org/cancer/.