Lois Coons

1918 - 2014

Lois Kathleen Coons

Billings — Lois Kathleen Coons died July 22, 2014 at St. John's Nursing Home in Billings. She was born May 12, 1918, the first child of Jake and Florence Ogden, on the family ranch at Simms, Montana. She grew up in Simms and graduated from Simms High School at the age of 17.

Attending Montana State College in Bozeman, she graduated with a B.S. degree in Home Economics in 1940. She was a proud alumnus, avidly watching the televised Bobcat games and attending many class reunions, including her 70th in 2010.

She met Wesley Coons while working for the Farm Security Administration in Malta and they were married October 10, 1943. Making their home in Great Falls they had four children. Wes died in 1960, leaving her with the four teenagers and the challenge of seeing them through their educations and on to their career paths.

She worked for the Great Falls Public Schools, planning menus for the school lunch program until 1964. Determined to make sure all of her kids were able to attend college, she moved to Bozeman and became the Assistant Food Service Manager at the new Hedges Hall Dormitory and later was the Manager of Food Service for the Lewis and Clark Dormitory. Following her Bozeman career, she moved to Helena, again planning meals for the public schools. When she retired from Helena, she returned to the ranch at Simms, and she cooked the meals for Senior Citizens for a number of years. In 1995 she moved to her home in Lockwood and devoted her time to being a grandmother, sharing her time with granddaughters, Lexi and Shea.

She loved to spend time outdoors and always planted, at least, a flower garden. She was an intuitive gardener and grew wonderful vegetables and beautiful flowers, especially sweet peas at the house in Great Falls. She also liked to make things with her hands, embroidering beautiful Christmas stockings for her grandchildren, sewing perfect pillows and learning how to paint with water colors in her late eighties. Her standards were always high, always doing things the right way to make them as perfect as possible. She taught the same to her children, guiding her boys to achieve the Eagle Scout award from the BSA and her daughters to win sewing and cooking awards in 4-H.

Survivors include her sister, Helen Brannon, of Chester; sons, Jim (Mary Lou), and Jerry (Pat); daughters, Sandy Taylor, and Tricia Ritter (Jim); granddaughters, Kyla Coons-Hale, Lexi Landers and Shea Coons; great grandson, Wesley Coons-Hale, and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Her husband, parents and brother, Morton, preceded her in death. A private family burial will be at the Manchester Cemetery at Vaughn.

The family is especially appreciative of the wonderful staff of caregivers at St. John's whose kindness and professionalism is unsurpassed. Memorials can be made to one's choice.