Lois Ann Hanson

LOIS ANN HANSON

Cedar Rapids

Lois Ann Hanson passed away Feb. 15, 2020, while under hospice care at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha, Iowa. A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the Cedar Memorial Park Chapel Stateroom. Funeral services will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories. Burial immediately following at the Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

Lois was born Lois Machemer in Byesville, Ohio, on Sept. 30, 1928, to Robert Machemer Jr. and Gladys Wilson Machemer.

In 1939, after the death of her mother, Lois moved to Cedar Rapids to live with her aunt and uncle. During her school years, she also lived with various relatives in Pella, Iowa, Missouri and Cedar Rapids. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1947. In the late '40s and early '50s, she worked at Quaker Oats, and loved to go dancing at Danceland. In 1953, Lois married Harold Froiseth. They settled in Winona, Minn., then moved to Rockford, Ill., and then to Cedar Rapids in 1962. She worked at Link-Belt Speeder as a keypunch operator in the 1960s, and was active in the PTA and Blue Birds. Lois and Harold were divorced in 1968. Later, she was briefly married to Bill Hanson and then divorced. She worked as an aide at Hallmar and Americana Nursing Home for several years. Lois worked at Mercy Hospital first in housekeeping and retired from Mercy in 1993, after working many years as a medical records technician.

Lois lived at the Five Seasons Senior Housing for more than 25 years and, as a result, came to know many good friends at the adjacent Hy-Vee. Those people were her second family, and treated her as such, cooking her salmon and broccoli just the way she liked it and helping her in various ways. Lois rode the city buses for 50 years, and many of the bus drivers were her friends. Special friends John and Stephanie Kirchhoff and Mike and Dawn Hammond gave Lois rides, helped her with various things and invited her to their family Easter and Thanksgiving dinners. Lois loved to go shopping, and never would turn down a good deal even if it were something she didn't need. She also loved to watch professional football and was very knowledgeable about various teams and especially her favorite team, the Patriots. Lois is remembered for her spunky, can-do attitude, staying busy and doing crossword puzzles.

A special thanks to the hospice personnel for their kindness, patience and concern in her final few days.

Lois is survived by daughter, Vicki Herold (Randy) of Kansas City, Kan.; a son, David Froiseth (Kathy) of Gainesville, Fla.; grandchildren, Rachel Baumler (Chad) of Shawnee, Kan., Krista Froiseth (Bob) and Justin Froiseth (Christy), all of Gainesville, Fla.; and eight great-grandchildren.

Lois was preceded in death by her parents and an infant brother and sister.

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