Lois Ellen Irwin

Lois was born in Faribault, Minnesota on August 8th, 1935. She was the youngest of three girls born to Alfred and Edna (Niner) Wolf. Lois grew up in the serene farm country of Minnesota with her sisters Lorraine (Lewer) and Joan (Townley). Lois attended Faribault High School and graduated in 1953. During those years she spent many hours working with and helping people with disabilities at the nearby hospital. She loved to tell the story of the Halloween celebration they created every year for the children there.

As a young woman, Lois “headed west” and landed in Vancouver, WA. She worked for many years as a dental assistant and finally met the love of her life, Gale Irwin. She accepted his marriage proposal and became his wife and mother to two young women in one day. Soon after the wedding Lois and Gale moved to San Francisco. She continued to work in the field of dentistry and Gale continued to climb the corporate ladder. With a job promotion they moved to the east coast and Lois retired. She focused her energy on making their home a warm and elegant place. Dogs were a lifelong passion of Lois’ and she became very involved with the local Guide Dogs for the Blind.

When Gale retired, they headed west again. Along the way they purchased a beautiful home within a golf community in Surprise, AZ and a lovely home in Vancouver, WA and began the snowbird trek each year. When Gale died in 2002, Lois continued to make the snowbird trek. She enjoyed the warm winter sunshine of Arizona and beautiful turns of the seasons in the Pacific Northwest. During this time, she became a grandmother to two young people that she adored with all her heart.

Lois was known for many things: a devout follower of Christ, a warm and compassionate friend, a gracious and elegant hostess and a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She was the kind of person you could count on during “thick or thin.”

She is survived by many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews still in Minnesota. She is also survived by numerous friends she adored and by her daughters and sons in law; Sandra and Steve Young and Shelie and Richard McCall, and the new loves of her life, her grandchildren Maggie McCall and John Michael McCall.