Lou A. Waller

Lou A. Waller died November 11, 2020. Even after Parkinson’s Disease prevented her from talking, it was clear that she continued to make up jokes, funny stories, and fanciful scenes in her mind just as she had done since her birth in Oklahoma City on November 21, 1938.

Lou was in the first class graduated from Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City and at that time had the career choice of nurse, teacher, or secretary. She chose nursing and was among the first to receive a BSN from The University of Oklahoma.

Shortly after graduation she married John H. Waller, and they moved to Lawton, Oklahoma where Lou worked as a public health nurse. Their daughter, Jen, was born at Fort Sill. At the end of John’s military service, Lou and John began their life as corporate nomads.

She lived in New York, Chicago, and Indianapolis all within the next three years. Son David was born in Indianapolis shortly before they moved to St. Louis and then back to Chicago. During this period Lou worked as a first-class homemaker, child tender, cookie baker, Halloween costume-maker, and girl scout leader. She continued to express and expand her creativity by regularly taking all kinds of classes – from transcendental meditation to pottery. She was also known for her skills at hosting parties, from small intimate gatherings to large holiday-themed events.

Her family then moved to Bryan, Ohio where Lou returned to the medical profession as an operating room nurse and as a photographer for the local newspaper. Northwest Ohio was also where Lou graduated from clown school with the clown name “Pickles.” Finally, the family moved to South Bend, Indiana where Lou and John lived for twenty-two years. These many moves gave Lou the opportunity to exercise her gift of design and organizational skills, as she was largely responsible for orchestrating moves and for decorating the family’s homes.

When her children went to college so did she, earning an AA in Commercial Art from Indiana Vocational Technical College. After several years working in advertising agencies she became co-owner of a large, print-oriented ad agency. A few years after selling the agency to her business partner, she earned a Master of Science in Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Indiana University. It was also during this time that Lou’s adventurous spirit emerged, as she took horse packing and rock climbing trips in the Rocky Mountains, Outward Bound excursions, a hike to the floor of the Grand Canyon (and back), and sailing voyages in the Virgin Islands. She continued to feed her creative appetite by enrolling in writing workshops across the country.

Upon retirement in 1994, Lou and John “came home” to Norman where she became immersed in supporting OU volleyball, women’s basketball, and particularly fine arts. Lou was a founding member of OU’s School of Dance support group, Dance Partners. In the Norman community she became an active cast member of the old-time radio performance group Second Stage Players, a book club, and French Club along with membership in the Norman Reviewers Club.

Lou will be remembered by many for her sense of humor, her visual design skills and sense of color, her independent spirit, and her ability to extemporaneously harmonize a song when singing in a group. She was a caring and funny mother, wife, and friend. Lou was predeceased by her parents, Paul Travis Lower and Deborah Heep Lower and older brother, (James) Alan Lower. She is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, John Waller; daughter Jen Waller and her partner Tim Lippert; son Dr. David Waller and his wife Dr. Noga Zerubavel; sister-in-law Marilyn Lower; nephew Chris Lower and wife LaVeryl Lower; niece Anne Lower with her husband Don Shirey; along with two cousins Dr. David (Bill) Foerster and Ann (Foerster) Ryan with whom she was particularly close.

A tribute to Lou’s life will be held at a later date when friends and family can gather. Memorial contributions can be made to the University of Oklahoma College of Fine Arts.

The family agrees that Rivermont Assisted Living and Memory Care in Norman, where Lou spent the last several months of her life, employs exceptionally kind and caring people who were a comfort to both Lou and her family.