LOIS QUINN SEARL

LOIS QUINN SEARL, 92

LAKELAND - Lois Quinn Searl was born ahead of her time. She was a trailblazer in politics, in service to her community and to equal rights.
The day she was born to George and Selma Quinn, her parents were living temporarily in Montreal, Canada. That day in 1922 was just the beginning of a history-making life. Lois grew up in Detroit with her two sisters, Elizabeth and Ethel.
While getting a degree in Education at Michigan State University, Lois met William (Bill) Searl Jr. on a double date. He was not her date, but he would soon become the love of her life.
They were married in January, 1944. When Bill served in WWII from 1945-1946, Lois taught elementary school in Oxford, Michigan. When Bill returned to East Lansing, Michigan he worked for Auto-Owners Insurance Company.
Lois knew she wanted a family, and she and Bill agreed that they wanted at least four children. Soon their three daughters (Linda, Barbara and Charlotte) were born in East Lansing. In 1953 Bill was transferred to Lakeland, Florida as a resident vice president for Auto-Owners Insurance Company. Lois was pregnant with their son, William III, who was born in Lakeland. She was a busy mom with four children but when her children started school, Lois signed on as one of their teachers at the Child's Garden of Learning.
In 1957, when her son Bill was four years old, he was diagnosed with Legg Perthes disease. The doctors prescribed physical therapy, but Lois discovered that there was no place for a child to get physical therapy in Lakeland. Determined to change this, Lois got to work raising money for a place where children could go for treatment and rehabilitation locally. Her efforts helped establish the Children's Rehabilitation Ranch, which later became the Central Florida Speech and Hearing Center, still a major resource for the city's residents. Lois received a state service award from the Sertoma Club for 'Service to Mankind' in 1964 for her work.
While raising money to build the rehab center, a friend suggested that she consider going into politics. The idea had never occurred to her, but she was beginning to believe that she could make a difference. Lois was elected to the city commission in 1964, and became mayor in 1965. She was the first woman to be elected to the Lakeland City Commission, and she was the first woman mayor in Florida of a city over 50,000 in population. She served on the city commission for six years.
Among other issues on the commission, she worked to make the city's finances more transparent and as a result she won the Jaycee's Good Government Award.
As a politician Lois met U.S. Presidents, astronauts and even Walt Disney at the opening of Disney World, but her most important contributions were to the people of the city she loved. Her legacy lives on in the civic places and urban planning of the city today.
For all of her adult life, Lois was a strong believer in women's rights, racial equality and even gay rights, and was never afraid to stand up for what she believed was right.
She later became a realtor where 'selling' Lakeland and helping people find homes in was another extension of a life dedicated to making a positive difference. She retired from real estate in 2007.
Throughout her life she never lost her love of and talent for painting. She took lots of blue-ribbon awards for her paintings, which were typically images of nature. After moving to Florida, her paintings reflected the beauty of Florida's beaches, marshes, trees and birds. In the December 14, 1964 edition of the Lakeland Ledger, Lois was featured as a successful artist as well as a successful politician. She was still painting into her 90s.
Her beloved husband Bill died in 2008. She is survived by her four children Linda Searl, Barbara Weller, Charlotte Searl, and William Searl III, nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
Services will be held on Sunday, September 20, at 2 p.m. at the Heath Funeral Chapel, 328 South Ingraham Avenue, Lakeland, FL. In lieu of flowers the family would request donation be made to the Central Florida Speech and Hearing Clinic.
http://www.cfshc.org/
Condolences may be sent to the family at
www.heathfuneralchapel.com