Lois Vivian Simpson was born on July 27, 1925 in Los Angeles. Her father Emerson was an accountant/auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad, Western US Division, and her mother Cecilia held various clerical jobs throughout her life, including for the Union Pacific Railroad, where she met Emerson. Lois was an only child, and was somewhat lonely – especially because they moved frequently to new cities and new schools. They lived mainly in Idaho, Utah and California, and Lois attended 27 schools until she graduated from North Hollywood High school in 1943. After she graduated, she engaged her natural talent as an artist at Warner Brothers Studios as an illustrator and cartoonist. She also attended USC as an art major, where she met the love of her life, Forrest Powers, an electrical engineering student.
After a courtship of only six months, Lois & Forrest married in 1946 in Los Angeles. They lived for several years with Lois’ mother in LA, and added Christine and then Kenneth to their family before purchasing a new tract home in Burbank. The house was small, but perfect for them, and shortly after moving in, they added Kathleen to the family. Lois really wanted a large family, so five years later, Heidi was brought home from the hospital, and 2 years after that, the baby Holly arrived. Four girls and one boy – that kept Lois & Forrest very busy! But that tiny tract home was no longer feasible for seven people, so they bought a much larger home – with a swimming pool – in the foothills of Burbank.
Lois adored Forrest and he adored her, too. They always had that spark, and sometimes while cooking dinner, Forrest would coax her into dancing which would light up her face! They would twirl & dip…..much to the fascination of the kids. They kept their marriage romantic and special and that lasted for nearly 60 years.
Lois was a devoted wife and mother. She loved her kids, she loved life, she loved to joke around and laugh. She loved good nutrition….and provided that to her family. She loved to dance and travel, most of all, she loved her family, and she did not want to leave them…..EVER. She was a wonderful “Nana” to 9 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
Lois and Forrest moved from LA County to Orange County in 1975, after Heidi graduated from high school and was accepted to attend UC Irvine. They loved “The OC”……Irvine was fairly “new” and they really enjoyed a re-set to life. Forrest started a new career in real estate and became a manager of a real estate office. Lois took on a new life of entertaining in their home and having parties for Forrest’s agents and also for the neighbors. In about 2000, they started to rent out rooms to UC Irvine visiting foreign scholars. There was a need for rooms, and they thought “why not?” This on-going arrangement brought many interesting people into their lives and Lois continued with this arrangement even after Forrest died in 2007. Lois has many “adopted grandchildren” from this arrangement and they all seem to be very fond of her. Many have stayed in touch, and some are attending her service.
When Lois was 93, daughter Kathy & husband Mike sold their Irvine home and moved in with her for a year so she wouldn’t be living alone. Then, they purchased a home in Orange, and Lois moved in with them. During her stay with them in Orange, she got a bad case of shingles on her face and scalp, and 5 months later, she fell and broke her right hip. After her recuperation, the four oldest kids wanted to share time with her, so she started living with each of them for four months each year. In January, 2022, she fell at Kathy & Mike’s, breaking her left hip and left shoulder. This was quite a blow, and the kids decided she needed to live in a more steady and safe environment, so she moved into an assisted living facility in Irvine, where she was thriving until her stroke in October 2022.
Over the next seven months, there was a slow, steady decline. She never got better, and she was never able to stand again. Her left side was paralyzed, and so she needed lots of help with just about everything. Her three oldest daughters, Chris, Kathy & Heidi devoted huge amounts of time to be there for her. Chris & Heidi had to leave their husbands for weeks at a time to help care for her in the nursing facility. Kathy was the local one and was there frequently. First born granddaughter Buffie, also spent countless hours at her bedside, keeping her company. All the girls made sure she was comfortable, and had the added benefit of Heidi being an MD. She was invaluable in fine tuning the medications with Lois’ local doctors to ensure maximum comfort. She was amazingly resourceful, and provided lots of tools for keep Lois comfortable, and engaged in life. Many hours were spent stroking & combing her hair, feeding her, trimming and polishing nails, looking at family photo books, watching treasured family videos, listening to music, and just keeping her company.
She loved her family so, and she had no intention of leaving, but her body had other ideas. She went on to join her darling Forrest in Heaven at 9:12 PM, on May 13, 2023…….just 3 hours before Mother’s Day on May 14th – which was also the 16th anniversary of Forrest’s transition to Heaven! Her family is heartbroken to say goodbye, but they are very relieved and happy she is in a better place and with her loved ones who went before her.
The family is eternally grateful to the staff at Windcrest Skilled Nursing Facility at Regents Point in Irvine, who lovingly cared for her and made sure the end of her earthly days were as comfortable as possible. Also, we want to give our heartfelt thanks to Traditions Health (Hospice), and to the dedicated nurses who tenderly tended to Lois in the final months. Additionally, our sincere thanks to Assurance Health, who provided several bedside "helpers" to be there to help Lois when family members could not be there. The staff members of Windcrest, Traditions, and Assurance truly are “Heroes” and we are deeply indebted to them.
The family also wishes to thank the many friends and family members who have expressed their condolences. It means everything to us!
A celebration of life service for Lois will be held Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.
Serving as pallbearers are Kenneth Powers, Son, James Terrio, MD, Son-in-Law, Michael Houlihan, Son-in-Law, Timothy Channel, Grandson-in-Law, Derek DeMuth, Grandson-in-Law, Michael Houlihan, Jr, Grandson, Nicholas Gerakos, Grandson and Bryce Channel, Great Grandson.
