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From Paula Savastano:
Although I only met Lois once, she
really touched a place in my heart. We met while on a cruise on the
Norwegian Star on what was later dubbed "the cruise from hell". She
had arranged an impromptu jam session with several musicians on board
to make the most of a bad situation. The ship had lost its air
conditioning and most of the passengers had taken refuge on the
prominade deck of the ship. This is where I ran into Lois and the
gang playing some folk and bluegrass music. Being a musician myself,
I grabbed my flute and joined in. It was one of my most memorable
musical experiences - we all just had a great time - with no
pressure. We kept the passengers entertained and maybe even lifted
some spirits by making the most of this uncomfortable situation. More
than anything, Lois and I formed a bond in music and friendship.
I returned home from England on Monday
after being away for ten days, hoping to tell Lois the good news of
my engagement to my boyfreind (who at the time worked on the
Norwegian Star) - and maybe lift her spirits and help her in her
recovery. Instead I was faced with this dreadful news. My heart goes
out to all of you whom have known Lois for any length of time. I
realize that if she was able to touch me as deeply as she did, this
loss must be very deep for anyone who really knew her well.
So-long Lois. I will never forget you
and look forward to seeing you and playing some more music again in
the great beyond!
Love and sympathy to those you've left
behind.
Love, Paula
From Kelly Wagner:
Lois and I started at TDI almost the
same time. When we found ourselves working in the same division, we
discovered that we had many bad habits in common - a New York frame
of mind, excessive affection for small fuzzy animals, reading books
in the ladies' room... We started trading books back and forth -
Regency romances, a particular subgenre that depends more on witty
dialogue and elegant surroundings than on steamy sex. We would pass
entire grocery sacks of these back and forth. What will I do with the
ones I have now?
In 1992, we decided to dress as
characters from Regency romances for TDI's annual Halloween
celebration. Lois found a beautiful gown in a second-hand store. We
paraded around all day as the Earl and Countess of Financial, with
Lois waving her fan and fluttering her eyelashes in authentic
fashion. (All I had to do was wear a top hat and look snooty.)
Sometimes our voracious appetite for these novels has been a trial to
our husbands.
I suspect that Mike will miss the
dialogue I suspect he had in common with my spouse, Steve:
"Go to sleep, dear, it's after
midnight. You have to work tomorrow."
"Just one more chapter!"
Which is not to be confused with the
similar dialogue both husbands know:
"There are litter boxes to
clean..."
"Just one more row!" (on a piece of
cross stitch.) Yes, that's another thing we shared, and I am so glad
I have several pieces of work that Lois made for me, that I will be
able to treasure always.
And not least, the small, fuzzy
animals. We did Brown Bag Lunch lectures together at work, telling
people about the joys of pets. Lois would bring a Pom in, and I a
guinea pig, as "demo animals." Sometimes the guinea pigs weighed
nearly what the Poms did! I will miss not having someone here at work
who understands perfectly about pet fur on one's suit, a faint smell
of pet food as one's perfume, and pictures of one's pets on the
office walls. And I wish Lois could have gotten to meet my new pet
chinchillas - I am sure she would adore them. Lois, if there is
something after and you are somewhere, then reach down and pet the
chinnies. I am sure that a Lois angel will not be complete without a
little pet hair on her...
Lois and Kelly as the Earl and Countess of Financial
Monitoring, Halloween 1992 at TDI.
We had a great time parading around with our noses in the air and
fake English accents.
Here's a closeup of Lois dressed as the Countess of
Financial.
I wove the shawl she's wearing, specifically to match the dress.
Lois had a snip of the fabric from the inside,
and we spent a great afternoon at Hill Country Weavers
picking out the fibers to be used in the weaving.
Love,
Kelly
From Jim & Nancy St. Aubyn:
Lois, thanks so much for our first
invitation to the GinDig last year. Sharing that part of your life
with Nancy & me will always be special. There is one other thing
I, AND ALL of the Texas Department of Insurance, have you to thank
for. Because of your determination to be the best in everything you
do, you are responsible for Life & Health insurance training
being brought into the 21st (from the 18th) Century here at TDI.
Lois and her belief in the CPCU program
was the catylist that started true progress in Life and Health
training at TDI. I know you're sitting up there laughing right now
saying "how can they take such a simple solution to a problem and
systematically make it any harder? Oh, wait, I know ! We'll appoint
another committee and have more meetings to discuss the process. Then
we can write more documentation about the process. And if we do this
long enough, all the people that need training will go somewhere
else. Then we won't need training and the problems will be solved
!!"
Lois, I toast you for all the good
things you have accomplished and helped others, like me, accomplish.
(Come to think of it, I'm not sure I can drink that much at one
sitting --oh well, we can always have additional sittings.)
Mike and family, our hearts go out to
you.
From Cindy Thurman:
Well, I've been trying to put my
thoughts down in words, and I've been having a hard time deciding
exactly how to say them. I guess I'm still shocked at the news,
because we had made plans to visit Lois once she got out of ICU, and
we planned to correspond during her convalescence. Further, I'm still
having difficulty believing that such a feisty little fighter could
let health beat her.
I've known Lois for a long time and
although we always didn't see eye to eye on everything, we
complemented each other. When she was forceful, I would try to soothe
or reduce; when I was lax or slow, she would always remind me or
follow up; I was disorganized while she was the most organized person
I knew.
I think Lois strived for perfection in
everything she did and she expected the same from those she worked
with. She set examples for us to follow and organized our procedures.
I knew if I had a hard or complicated project or file, I knew Lois
could handle it. If there was a complicated reinsurance transaction,
I knew Lois would follow it out to the last policyholder. She wanted
to protect policyholders like they were her own Pomeranians!!!!
Lois lived life to the fullest, whether
it was showing dogs, writing procedures or making checklists,
shopping for clothes (at a bargain), or enjoying eating out (at Dan
McClusky's). Whenever Lois was shopping (looking for that perfect
denim skirt for dogshows: not too long/not too short and with
pockets) she would always manage to pick up a thing or two for
Nicki.
Lois had so many different sides:
Airforce enrollee (I just found that out), dog show and breeder
enthusiast, clothes connoisseur, choir participant, musician,
co-worker with incredible tattoos, cheap romance novel reader,
teacher, and it didn't surprise me to learn that she was involved in
Elgin politics. Lois was generous with her praise and could be just
as generous with her criticism (usually meant in a positive manner).
You would definitely know at which times Lois was your friend or your
opponent. At times, I would be mad enough at her to scream, then at
other times, she would have me in stitches with her witty jokes. No
matter how mad I got at Lois, I would stand up for her if I felt she
was being treated unfairly and she would do the same for me.
I just hope God knows what he's in for.
If I know Lois, she's already discovering things she would like to
change up there and she will do her darndest to convince everyone
that her ideas are right!!!!
I will miss her in many ways.
From Erika Moureau, Texican Pomeranians:
I've known Lois since before she met
Michael Hanke and in all this time I never knew until today that she
sang and played the guitar. I did know, however, that she would do
anything for a friend. That you could call on her any time yo needed
help at a dog show. That she was deeply interested in learning the
dog-show game, and she did learn it quite well.
I remember the first time Mike came to
a dog show, Beaumont week-end, which is coming up again in just 2
weeks from now. She was so excited to have him there, and so happy.
And I remember the last words she said to me at the last dog show she
attended:" Give me a hug.....just in case...." I felt like I was
hugging a frail little captive bird....God set her free....Go fly, My
Friend.
Love, Erika
From Sherry Vaughn and family and the Esenci Frenchies &
Poms:
I am still aching so much from this
unexpected loss of my dear friend Lois, that it is hard to try to put
together a message. I only knew Lois 3 years ... it's unbelievable
that we shared so much in only 3 years.
Our mutual friends, Darrell & Olga
Baker, introduced Charlie (my husband) and I to Lois in the Spring of
1995. We were attempting to show a little cream Frenchie bitch named
"Tea-D's Petty Ms Demeanor" (we call her Demeanor). When Lois met us
and saw Demeanor, she all but begged us to let her show her. She and
Demeanor won 10 points together (2 points during Memorial weekend
shows in Louisiana, and back-to-back 4 point majors July 14th and
15th at the Astroworld Series of Dog Shows here in Houston). Another
friend had shown Demeanor at an Oklahoma show in June and had won a 5
point major with her. In six short weeks, Demeanor was a Champion.
That July 15th, 1995 was a day of mixed emotions ... it was my
Birthday, I had my first AKC Champion thanks to Lois, but I knew my
brother was dying of cancer in Tyler ... he died July 16th at age
51.
In August, 1995, Lois sold me a little
male Pomeranian that she had bred. His name is "Milo's Just a
Littlebit High" ... or "Trouble" to my family and "Willie" to the
Hanke household. Lois showed him to his championship, which took WAY
longer than the six weeks it took to finish Demeanor ... it almost
always does take longer in the Pom ring.
In January of 1996, Demeanor had a
litter of puppies. Out of that litter, I kept a little fawn bitch we
named "Esenci's Ms-T I'd Love'r". Lois started showing Ms-T as soon
as she was six months old, and finished her in September or October
of 1996. During the summer of 1996, Lois invited one of my twin
daughters, Shelley, to come stay with her for a week to visit a
little boy she had met at a camp in Glorieta, New Mexico. Shelley was
15 and Nikki, Lois and Mike's daughter, was 12 ... they shared some
good times together, Shelley had a good time visiting Josh (the boy),
and Shelley learned to LOVE a small town. Lois even took Shelley and
Nikki to Austin and bought them some clothes ... Lois loved shopping
and I think Lois identified with my twin daughters because she was a
twin.
Lois continued to "Special" Ms-T into
and through most of 1997. Ms-T became ranked in the top ten French
Bulldogs in the Breed Standings during 1997 (She got as high as #5)
due to her and Lois' winning ways. Lois always thought Ms-T should
win when they walked into the show ring, and usually she was right.
By the way, Ms-T was the dog who took a flying leap into the pond
right before show time ... Lois thought it was really funny. She
always knew how to take things in stride.
Ms-T had a litter of her own in
September of 1997, so Lois had to quit showing her for awhile. Out of
Ms-T's litter, I kept a little fawn bitch and Lois took to her house
a little fawn male. Lois named her new baby Milo's Petit Beau
L'Esenci.
In 1998, Lois had already shown Ms-T at
the San Antonio Dog Shows March 6th, 7th, and 8th, and kept her until
she came to Houston March 15th to show her at the Galveston County
Dog Show at the Houston Farm & Ranch Club. That was the last day
that I saw Lois ... I met her at her brother David's house to get
Ms-T. Mike met me at the door and invited me into David's den when I
got there. Lois was talking to me about some things ... David said,
"Remember, the baby's asleep." Lois didn't lower her voice, and I
wondered why. Lois and I stepped out into the front yard to go get
Ms-T, and Lois told me "I WANT the baby to wake up!" Then I
understood why she had not lowered her voice ... she loved David's
and Collie's children.
I talked to her on the phone on Sunday,
March 23rd, before she was supposed to have surgery on Monday (which
was delayed until Tuesday). She talked to me about having all the
dogs bathed and groomed, having the computer and email set up for her
to use during her recuperation, having a beeper for Mike so she could
reach him if she needed him once she got home ... all the things she
wanted to have done in readiness for being laid up a few weeks. She
also told me she was excited about how beautiful Beau was becoming,
and was already picturing and planning a long show career for
him.
Mike, I can't fathom the loss of a
spouse so seemingly unnecessarily, but know that Lois loved you very
much and would want you to stay strong. Shawn, Lois was very proud of
you, and I know you will miss her. Nickie, Lois was very proud of
you, too; I know this loss is going to be very hard on you ... being
a teenager is hard enough without such a loss. Myra (and your
husband), David and Collie, I can relate to your loss because of the
loss of my brother almost 3 years ago; and Myra, I have an inkling of
the twin connection that you have because of raising twins myself.
Mr. and Mrs. Singer, I am so sorry you are having to endure the home
going of a child ... not the order in which things should happen.
Look to the Lord for your strength in this seemingly senseless
tragedy ... He is the only one who can provide real comfort. Jesus
Christ is our hope, our comfort, and our salvation.
Love, Sherry
From the Thanksgiving archives:
Lois at Thanksgiving Rehearsal 1992 where eating hot grilled oysters
is serious business.
Lois 'onstage' with Doug and John.
Happiness and all smiles 'onstage' with John and Steven.
From Alan J. Marhofke:
I did not know Lois but through the
Internet I met her twin sister Myra. I can see that Lois too had a
great love of animals and was a caring and sensitive person. As a I
walk my beloved border collie tonight. I will say a prayer for Lois
and thank God for a friend like Myra.
Respectfully
Alan J. Marhofke
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin