Travis, Lois C. (1920-2015)
TRAVIS, MILLER, CREAMER, SWANSON, BAXTER, THORNTON
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 9/22/2015 at 20:40:16
Lois C. Travis
September 13, 1920 - August 29, 2015Lois Catherine Travis, age 94, of Prairie Village, Kansas, formerly of Storm Lake, died on Saturday, August 29, 2015, at the Claridge Court Retirement Community in Prairie Village, Kansas.
Lois Catherine Miller, the youngest of four children born to Mary E. (Creamer) and William Z. Miller, was born in Sexton, Iowa, on September 13, 1920. In 1938, she graduated with a class of fifty-eight students from Algona High School where she was a member of the Glee and Operetta Clubs. Lois, then, attended Iowa State University in Ames. During her first year, however, she transferred to Buena Vista University in Storm Lake to be closer to her family. With the unexpected death of her father, Lois was not able to continue her education. Her first job was working for her sister, Ruth, and her husband, Phil, who owned "Smart But Thrifty," a women's retail store.
While living in Storm Lake, she met her husband at the Storm Lake bowling alley. At the age of 21, she married Robert "Bob" Travis on March 8, 1942, in South Sioux City, Nebraska. In May of 1942, Bob was drafted for World War II and was sent to boot camp in Mississippi. As a young woman, Lois traveled by train to visit Bob first in Mississippi and then in New Jersey before he shipped out for his tour of duty in Africa and Italy. After Bob returned from war in 1945, they spent many years on archeology digs in northwest Iowa and became avid antique collectors. Lois collected antique salt and pepper shakers, glassware, dolls, toys, postcards, and anything Coca-Cola. Moreover, for over seventy years, she penned letters to over ninety pen pals and traded postcards all over North America. She never passed up a garage sale, estate sale, or flea market. She loved bird watching, card games, including the family Pinochle tournaments, Pitch, Yahtzee, bingo, and in her younger days, bowling and dancing.
For over forty-five years, the Travis family would spend their summer vacation at Park Rapids, Minnesota. Once there, Lois was able to make friends going to flea markets and antique shops while Bob fished. They, also, enjoyed playing many card games of Pitch. In her later years, Lois opened an antique booth, calling it “Childhood Memories,” in the Mission Road Antique Mall at Prairie Village, Kansas. In addition, she was a member of the Archaeology Society of Iowa, Northwest Chapter, The Sioux City Museum, The Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, and a former member of the United Methodist Church of Storm Lake.
After living most of her life in Storm Lake, Lois and her cat, PK, moved to Leawood, Kansas, in 2009 to live with her daughter, Mary, and her family. Lois was still able to enjoy summer vacations to Minnesota with her son, Rich, and to Table Rock Lake and the Florida coast with her daughter, Mary.
A wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, Lois is survived by her son, Richard Travis, and his wife, Brenda, of Galva; her daughter, Mary, and her husband, Guy Swanson, of Leawood Kansas; four grandchildren, Tiffanie Travis; and Paige, McKenzie, and Conner Swanson; and two great grandchildren, Brett and Lacy Baxter; as well as by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Lois was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her twin children, Roberta Lea and Robert Morrie; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Richard and Louise and Bernard and Dorothy Miller; and her sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Phil Thornton. Lois will be laid to rest next to her husband, Bob, in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery, Storm Lake.
To celebrate her life, an open house will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Milburn Country Club in Overland Park, Kansas, on September 13, 2015, her 95th birthday. The family extends a special thank you to all of Lois' wonderful caregivers from Home Instead Senior Care, our beloved Anita Reeves, and the Good Samaritan Society of Holstein as well as the staff at Claridge Court Retirement Community and Continua Home Health and Hospice. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Buena Vista County Historical Society or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, September 2, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Burial will follow in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.
Copyright © 2015, Sliefert Funeral Homes
Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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