Lois Elser Lenz

Lois May Martin was born on October 26, 1932 in Franklin County PA and passed away as Lois Elser Lenz on her 91st birthday, October 26, 2023. She was the first of 5 children to Abram Paul Martin and Sarah Catharine Etter Martin.

I (Linda Elser Brown) want this to be a document that truly gives an indication of who my mother was as it may be the only history available 200 years from now.

Family was important to her. When reminiscing of her childhood, one of her favorite stories was of the love for both of her grandmothers. She said she would watch the sunrise with one grandmother and watch the sunset with the other. Her Grandmother Anna Gsell Etter had been blinded by being kicked by a horse when she was 33. As a child Lois would describe the sky to her blind grandmother and read the Bible to her. She adored her grandmothers. She treasured all of her family.

Her first 18 years were in Greencastle, PA where she graduated high school. She then attended the Hagerstown School of Nursing for 3 years of study along with long hours working as a student nurse in the Hagerstown hospital. She became a licensed Registered Nurse in 1953 and started an over 50-year nursing career. In September of 1953 she married Theodore E. Elser, Sr. Over the next few years, she worked as an emergency room nurse and gave birth to 3 children (Linda Sue Elser, Jeanne Lynn Elser and Theodore Edwin ElserJr. In 1959 the family moved to Enola PA where her husband pastored his first church. In her younger years as a parent she roller skated, ice skated, rode bikes, hiked, went sledding and camping with her husband and children.

In the late 1960s Lois completed an associate degree. She later received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Baltimore. She retired from 24 years with the state as a nurse but never completely stopped working as a nurse until she was 70 years old to care for her 2nd husband. At one point in her career, she was Chief of Nursing in a 200-bed state psychiatric hospital.

In the1980s she started work toward a master's degree but her first grandchild was born in 1986. She continued to work but her new priority was her grandchildren. About every 18 months a new baby arrived for a total of 4 grandchildren, Rachel, Nicole, Jayme and Jason. She went camping, swimming, to the beach, to the mountains, birthday parties, school functions, sports activities, dance recitals, baby sat…it did not matter the activity, the reward was being with the grands.

In 2017 the cycle started again with 4 great grandchildren, Ethan, Elias, Aryah, and Leila. She would say, "I want to see my babies" and her granddaughters were faithful to make sure that visits happen regularly. Her daughter Jeanne could have been a party planner. She always made sure that family events occur that include everyone.

Later in life Lois became a frequent snowbird, migrating to Florida in the winter. She enjoyed travelling on cruises and to Europe but her priority was her 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren which she loved without reservation. She married Edward Lenz in 2002, they were both 69 years old. They lived in a retirement community in Lake Wales Florida where Lois rode her tricycle to the pool for water aerobics, Ed won fishing contests, they camped in the U.S and they cruised to Alaska. They were good friends and playmates. She faithfully cared for him after he was diagnosed with cancer until he died 5 years after being married in 2007. After this she continued to travel and spend time with family.

She was frugal but generous to a fault. If someone was in need, she had her wallet open before the sentence was finished. There was no judgement or watching to see that the cash was managed perfectly. She gave with an open hand. She just loved the feeling of generosity.

Lois had pretzel humor, it was very twisted, and she passed it down. An example was when her children were 10, 11 and 12, she stood in the kitchen and yelled, "help, help, help!" the children ran to see what was wrong. She quickly pointed and said, "You fold the laundry, you sweep the floor, you mop the floor." That only worked once or twice. In general, the kids had regular assigned chores and completed them. She was also one of those people who would turn off the car radio and say, "Now I can see better."

She never stopped living. She learned to swim at age 50. She took oil painting classes later in life and was a talented amateur artist. If you want to know who she was, she was a dessert a day kind of person with her favorites being Butter Pecan Ice Cream, chocolate anything but do not forget the fresh fruit and vegetables and a lot of water. She was very tech savvy. It was amazing how quickly she learned new technology. She also enjoyed a good orchestra performance or a trip to the botanical garden and her favorite color was red. She was always there for the family and friends. When my son almost died of asthma as a child and was hospitalized, she was at the hospital every day and still working. Lois lived life like it was a toothpaste tube where she pushed every drop out. I heard her give the advice over and over, "Do things now while you still can."

She truly was a Proverbs 31 kind of woman. She brought her food from afar. Even though she always said, "I am not a morning person." I saw her get up while it was still dark to go to work year after year. She took care of her family and anyone in need. She spent her money wisely and invested. Her lamp burned late into the night. She was always prepared for any emergency. She spoke with wisdom and faithful instruction. Her children arise and call her blessed.

We are so fortunate to have had our mother all these years. We won the parent lottery! We honor you, Mom, for the wonderful things that you have given us and taught us. You have healed our souls over and over with your wise counsel. You taught us agape love. You taught us the value of hard work but that we would be loved not because of what we did but because we are your children. You taught us to follow our dreams even when our dreams took us far from you.

You gave us your sense of humor which is extremely cool. You helped us by saying the right things like, "90 percent of what we worry about never comes to pass." You taught us not to just notice when someone is in need but to do something about it. You showed by example to be generous with labor and money. You taught us to cook, clean, dress a wound, read a thermometer, love books, spend money wisely and to love our Lord. You gave us affection for education, travel, music, and art. You always encouraged our curiosity even when it made a BIG mess. You taught us the worth of truth and kindness. You never gave up on us even when we gave up on ourselves. We came to understand with every part of our being that we were always accepted, forgiven, and loved by you. We are missing you intensely, but heaven is now a better place. Can I have the room next to yours?

Thanks mom. (Written by Linda Elser Brown, Daughter)



Lois is preceded in death by her sister Betty Martin Wise and her parents, Abram Paul Martin, and Sarah Catherine (Etter) Martin. She is also survived by her children: Linda Elser Brown, Jeanne Elser-Frank, and Theodore E. Elser, Jr.; four grandchildren: Rachel Elser Tiqui and husband Randall, Jason Brown, Nicole Elser and Jayme Elser, and four great-grandchildren: Ethan Kai Tiqui, Elias Gabriel Elser, Aryah Marie Jones and Leila Marie Tiqui. Also surviving are her siblings: Naomi Horst, Abram Paul Martin, Jr. and his wife Dorothy, Mary Kennedy Lehman and her husband, Clifford.