Lois Marion Neilson

Lois Marion Neilson (nee Gerber), passed away on Saturday, September 27th  at her home of 70 years in Linthicum, MD, just two weeks shy of her 97th  birthday.

Lois is survived by her sons Blake Duane Neilson of Pasadena, MD, his wife Susan, their girls Mikey and Megan and Megan's children Taylor and Riley; Brent Dean Neilson of Cordova, MD and his wife Leslie; Scott Bradley Murphy-Neilson of Herndon, VA, his wife Janine and their children Madeleine and Anthony; granddaughter Samantha Marie Walker of Pasadena, and many nieces and nephews.  Lois is preceded in death by her husband, Vernon Louis (Sonny) Neilson, her son Randall Keith Neilson and daughter Cynthia Gail Neilson, her parents John and Elizabeth Gerber and her brother William (Bud) Gerber.

Lois was born on October 10, 1928, in a rowhouse apartment on Boyle Street in South Baltimore.  Soon after her birth, the family moved into her paternal family's 'country' house on Greenland Beach Road in northern Anne Arundel County, and again when she was 9 to Nursery Road Linthicum. She attended Linthicum Elementary School and then Glen Burnie High School where she played in the band (saxophone) and the Raynor Heights and Glen Burnie HS softball teams (1st base) and the Glen Burnie HS basketball team. Her first job was for Mayer's Department Store, after graduation, Lois returned to Glen Burnie High School as the secretary for two successive principals.

She met her husband-to-be by attending Lansdowne Christian Church (Hull Memorial) where she remained an active member for 75 years. Sonny Neilson was a WWII Navy Vet who earned a law degree on the GI bill. Lois would become his secretary in the basement office of the home he built her on Oak Grove Rd. in Linthicum Heights, until she gave up paid work for the real work of being wife, homemaker, and mother of eventually 5 children-each one of whom, she'd insist, was her favorite.

When not being 'Mom' to not only her own children but all of their friends, Lois bowled on the church league, played softball into adulthood, was a crafter, and traveled. A succession of travel trailers and mobile homes took her and family members to all corners of the US (including Alaska but not Hawaii or North Dakota) and many in Canada. She and Sonny enjoyed cruises as well as tours of European countries, Morocco, New Zealand and Australia.

She was a collector of relationships, unafraid to initiate conversation. She kept people on her Christmas card rotation for decades. Contained in those cards were detailed letters she started writing before they became popular until after they fell out of fashion (to the extent that they were ever popular or fashionable). She threw a Christmas Eve party every year for over 50 years to which everyone was welcome and which many would not dare miss.

Lois was so happy to have been able to see her 5 grandchildren grow to adulthood, to have seen some get married and to have been blessed with great-grandchildren as well.

Over her many years she earned her stripes as caregiver by tending to her children's health issues, spanning from childhood nephritis, multiple broken bones (including vertebrae) & car accident scrapes, heart surgeries and chronic myeloid leukemia, to juvenile diabetes and its attending complications such as transplants and amputation.

She housed her own mother for the last 8 of her 98 years. She cared for her grandkids by serving the best pancakes they ever ate, prepared on the 1930's-era Guardian Ware griddle pan that came with her mother. Lois' care was not restricted to family, or humans, having tended to her own pets, her children's and numerous strays throughout the years – dogs, cats and birds.

She cared for strangers as a Meals-on-Wheels volunteer for over two dozen years, as a repeat fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association, and as a donor to every charity that crossed her path. Lois loved her God and whatever she could do for anyone else she did in honor of Him. She lived her faith.

Visitation (Wednesday, October 15 from 2-4 & 6-8) and service (Thursday, October 16, 10am funeral, 11am burial) will be held at Loudon Park Funeral Home & Cemetery, 3620 Wilkens Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21229.

Memorial donations to the American Diabetes Association (or any worthwhile charity) are greatly appreciated. Lois' family wishes to extend their gratitude to her many loved ones and caregivers.