Lois Lucille (Jewell) Laszlo of Liberty Twp. died peacefully at her home Nov. 27, 2004. She was 89.

She was born Aug. 2, 1915 in Gary, the daughter of Edward and Ida (Stibbe) Jewell, both of whom preceded her in death.

On Nov. 29, 1932 in Crown Point, she married Martin Laszlo III. The wedding ring that symbolized their marriage was purchased at the local dime store. They were married 67 years. Martin preceded her in death Nov. 26, 1999.

She is survived by daughters, Marilyn Laszlo of Liberty Twp.; Shirley Killosky of Papua, New Guinea; Fay Popp (Louis) of Chesterton; brother Orville Jewell (Daisy) of Merrillville and grandchildren, James Killosky of Chesterton, Lisa Holm (Jim) of Boise, Idaho, Don Killosky of Liberty Twp., Michele Tribole (Jon) of Snohomish, Wash., Lorelei Weimer of Chesterton, Tracy Popp of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Robert Laszlo (Carla) of Bradenton, Fla., Martin Miller of Sterling, Ill., Carrie Bazotte (Rob) of Valparaiso, Jody Miller of Valparaiso, Suzanne Olson (Michael) of Knoxville, Tenn. and Leo Miller of Valparaiso. She is also survived by 13 great-grandchildren.

She was also preceded in death by a daughter, Carolyn (Miller) Prosser (Rick) and by four brothers and four sisters.

In 1918, Lois contracted Polio, a disease that helped shape her life. Doctors said she would never walk, but with the determination of her mother and herself, she was able to walk again. She not only walked, but also excelled in sports during her school years.

In 1939, Martin and Lois purchased a 16 acre farm in Liberty Twp. for $1 and remained on their farm until their deaths.

Lois was devoted to her husband, children and grandchildren. She worked for over 20 years at her daughter’s (Fay) childcare home in Chesterton. She was creative in many ways. Children were drawn to her and Lois cherished being involved with them. They fought to sit on her lap. She wrote dozens of poems, which she put to music for children to sing. One of her more famous ones was “There Was an Old Turkey.”

She was a devout Christian. She gave many hours to Crocker Bible Church, which is a little country church in Crocker. Later she became a member of First Baptist Church in Valparaiso where she was a Sunday school teacher and gave years of service to the church.

She was a caring person who focused on helping others in need, especially those in the neighborhood. She raised hundreds of chickens in order to provide food to those in need. She loved teaching children, camping, politics, writing family history and writing poetry.

She was considered the matriarch of the family.

A brief funeral service, Rev. Mike Eddy officiating, will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 3 at First Baptist Church. Interment will follow at Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso.

Visitation will be Thursday, Dec. 2 from 4-7 p.m., with memorial service at 7 p.m. celebrating her life, at First Baptist Church, 2205 N. Campbell, Valparaiso. David Bauer will officiate.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church.

Arrangements were made by Edmonds and Evans Funeral Home.

Posted 11/30/2004