Lois Wehrhan

LOIS M. WEHRHAN

Cedar Rapids

Lois M. Wehrhan, 100, passed away Aug. 26, 2017, under Mercy Hospice care at The Methwick Retirement Community-Woodlands. A private burial will be held at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

Lois was born Dec. 4, 1916, the second of six children, to Albert Taylor and Ella Smith Minor on their farm east of the old Linn County Home. Lois lived with an aunt during seventh and eighth grades when her mother became ill. She spent summers at their Clear Lake, Iowa, cottage learning to swim, row and fish. One of her pleasant memories as a child was attending Scattergood (Quaker) boarding school in West Branch for her freshman year. At age 17, Lois worked on a farm for $1 per week plus room and board learning to make bread and cook for the family.

Word was received from Los Angeles, Calif., that her aging stepgrandmother needed care, so Lois was sent to care for her in 1935. In 1936, she took her grandmother Strother by train to live on the family farm in Iowa, then returned to Los Angeles, enrolling in a two-year secretarial program (Los Angeles Junior College 1936-1938). Lois found a home with friends of Grandma Strother where she assisted with housework and cooking for $5 per week plus room and board and was able to attend classes. While living there, she met and married Sibert Crawley, EMC, USN, in 1939. She later joined him in Hawaii in June 1941.

On Dec. 7, 1941, at 7 a.m., Lois watched as 13 planes zipped by, one-by-one, barely clearing the treetops, not realizing they were Japanese until radio broadcasts announced we were under enemy attack. She left Hawaii on Easter Sunday in 1942 for the states.

Wishing to contribute to the war effort, Lois became a bus driver for Treasure Island Navy Transportation Pool, transporting troops over a 150-mile radius of San Francisco. At war's end, she drove for the original United Nations International Peace Conference in San Francisco. In 1947, she joined her husband for shore duty in Pearl Harbor, and a few months later, to battle-scarred Guam, where, sadly, their nine-year marriage crumbled. Lois returned to the states.

In 1949, Lois married David Lane Ulrey, professional rodeo cowboy and rancher, living alternately in San Fernando, Calif., and the Mojave Desert, camping under the Joshua trees while David was engaged in rounding up wild horses. Lois was delighted with the birth of their daughter Patricia in 1949, a son, David, in 1951 and, lastly, daughter Roxanna in 1953.

Circumstances developed when it seemed wise for her and the children to move back to Cedar Rapids. Her marriage ended in divorce in 1958. She found a secretarial position at Collins Radio, and it was there she met Richard Wehrhan and he danced his way into her heart. They loved to dance to all the big bands that came to town. They married in 1975. Both retired in 1981 and they lived in Marion until moving to The Methwick Community in 1996, where they enjoyed life to the fullest. They were members of First Presbyterian Church in Marion.

Lois always wanted to be remembered as an Iowa child "But no matter I am who I am, an Iowa child and this is enough." She left us all with lots of wonderful memories and her caregiver attitude.

She was preceded in death by her parents; siblings, Irene Switzer and Glen Minor; husband, Richard; and daughters, Patricia and Roxanna.

She is survived by her brother, Maurice Minor; sisters, Edith Lyon and Isabel Richardson; son, David Ulrey; grandsons, Tim and Scott Ulrey; granddaughters, Elisha Serkpor and Joy Faile; great-granddaughter, Zakiyyah Serkpor; and special friends, Dwayne and Holly Gefaller and Sue and Mike Lane, whom she considered family; as well as many other nieces and nephews.

A special thanks to Mercy Hospice for the extra comfort and peace they gave her during this time. Also thanks to The Methwick-Woodlands for the wonderful care and time spent with her. Her care was a team effort.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com.