Black Point, NS April 22, 1927 - March 01,2025
Life with Lois.
Lois enjoyed a happy childhood, growing up in Black Point on beautiful St. Margaret's Bay. It was heaven on earth... her very own ocean playground! But all was not idyllic. At the age of eight, she tragically witnessed the drowning death of one her brothers resulting from a sledding accident. The sled had gone through the ice on the pond and only one of the two brothers was able to be saved. At age 11 she lost another brother in his infancy.
After graduating high school in the late 1940s Lois took her first job with J&M Murphy's in downtown Halifax, taking the bus to town and back. She would stop in on occasion at Stitchbury's Fruit and Confectionary on Buckingham Street, where she met her future husband, Keith. They wed September 15, 1951, the first couple to be married in the Black Point United Baptist Church. Shortly thereafter they bought a house on Chebucto Road, where they welcomed son Kim in 1956. Lois stayed at home with her little boy. In 1961 came their beautiful daughter Joy and Lois became a full-time parent, as Keith was now on the road with his sales business. Lois believed in old-style discipline — guilty until proven innocent — which usually meant you took the whooping regardless of innocence or guilt, the message being, "Don't even think about it… Kimberly."
One skill Lois had that was very impressive was her penmanship. She had the most beautiful handwriting and always took pride when she had to sign her name to a letter/card or document. Her signature was like the pro athletes of the fifties and sixties.
Throughout this period Lois and Keith housed many borders with whom they became good friends and stayed in contact with over the years. In the summers vacations meant camping trips around the eastern part of the country, with fun times and some colorful language involved in setting up and packing up at each location.
Lois eventually went back into the job market, working at Bud Lantz’s corner store for a number of years. In the early 1970s she worked at the Balcom-Chittick Drug Store at the Armdale rotary. In the late 1970s she began working for the County School Board, which was conveniently located within walking distance, so she was able to come home for lunch. She was very industrious and would do a number of home chores before she left for work and at lunch time. She also babysat, and made and sold her special birthday cakes which were widely loved. She worked with the school board until her retirement in 1993.
Daughter Joy blessed Grandma Lois with two beautiful grandchildren, Kyle in 1988 and Brittany in 1993. Lois loved having them for sleepovers as she could take them to the beach and give them nature experiences. They have gone on to carve their paths in life and are both currently living in Alberta.
Lois and one of her sisters inherited the family property in Black Point and Lois was able to purchase the house from her sister, who lived in Vancouver. Lois wanted to add a foundation and move the original structure back onto the foundation, but the integrity of the structure would not allow this. A new house had to be built, which worked out to Lois's advantage as she got to have a say in everything during construction. Keith would always say “Happy wife, happy life for Keith.” Lois, in retirement, was back in heaven with the new home in Black Point. She enjoyed being outdoors in nature with the ability to go for a swim in the ocean, walk down the trail to her secret berry patch, and of course plant and tend to her flower and vegetable gardens. Their neighbours were terrific and treated them like royalty!
Lois and Keith had very fond connections to the church members of St. Andrew's St. Mark's United Church and they enjoyed helping with garden tours, soup lunches, or whatever fundraiser was on the agenda. A special mention to Bob and Bonnie McCuaig, Debbie Gass and the many others who touched their lives. With the fire department next door Lois periodically took the crew over a treat of chocolate chip cookies or whatever she was baking. The fire crew were always happy to see her and she was happy to have them as neighbours. On September 2 of 1998 Lois and Keith heard what they thought was a clap of thunder at the mouth of the bay, which turned out to be the Swissair Flight 111 disaster. Of course, the fire department was on the move minutes after the emergency siren. Lois and Keith went on their trip of a lifetime to Hawaii which was one of the highlights of their marriage. Lois always wanted to take an Alaskan Cruise and started planning for it very early. When the time finally came Lois was excited to go. She and Keith boarded the plane and sat on the tarmac for an hour before getting called back to the gate, where they sat for another two hours, but never got off the ground. The date was September 11, 2001 — the 9/11 tragedy. Following this, Lois lost her desire for further travel adventures, so the Alaskan cruise dream was left unfulfilled.
The family started to notice changes in Lois in her early- to mid-eighties, as the initial signs of Alzheimer's began to appear. This was difficult for all to watch as the disease progressed. She developed Osteoarthritis in her right hip, which restricted her from her favourite activities. Sadly, surgery was not an option due to her age and the effects of anaesthesia on an Alzheimer’s patient. Lois was defiant about going to a care home — it was enough of a struggle to get Lois and Keith to allow VON to come in the house to make sure they were taking their daily medicine. Some days they were reluctant to even answer the door! Keith had a hard time understanding what Alzheimer's was and how it affected Lois's behavior. Toward the end of their stay in the house neither one was eating well or getting proper care, and Lois would hobble around the house on a crutch. In November 2019 she decided she wanted to venture down to the basement, which she had not visited in four years, and had a major fall on the stairs. This was the end of her stay in the house. After spending eight days in Emergency, Lois was finally transitioned to Maplestone Enhanced Care where she would be cared for 24/7. It took some time for her to acclimatize as she knew where home was — Black Point!
The staff at Maplestone treated her with tremendous kindness, compassion, dignity, respect and love. It was a horrible time living through the covid virus period as loved ones could not go in to see their relatives, and talking on the phone through the window was the closest solution. Lois's health improved at Maplestone as she was getting her medications and better nutrition. The Alzheimer's progression slowed now that she was in a caring environment. Lois participated in a lot of activities that the Recreation Coordinators arranged, and very much enjoyed the physical games that they played.
Lois got to meet three of her great-grandchildren, Avery, Nash and Kaia, and dearly wanted to meet the twins, Emmett and Ethan. She passed away on March 1, 2025, following a brief respiratory illness. Lois was ready to say good-bye.
She will be missed by all she touched. A special thank-you to the VON that called on Lois and Keith, Dr. Robert Scovil, the crew at St. Andrew's St. Mark's United Church and the angels of Maplestone, with special mention to Darlene Hornbuckle. Lois was the last of her eight siblings to pass.
She was predeceased by her parents Emerson and Leah (Rafuse) Wilnoff, husband Keith, sisters Pauline, Jean, Florence, Mary, Joan, brothers John, Ross and Nelson.
She is survived by her son Kim, daughter Joy MacMillan (David), grandchildren Kyle MacMillan (Amber), Brittany Anderson (Justin), great-grandchildren Nash, Avery, Kaia, Emmett and Ethan, and sister-in-law Myrtle Wilnoff, along with many nieces and nephews.
There will be an informal Celebration of Life for Keith and Lois Saturday, May 10, at 11a.m. at the Black Point Community Center attached to Fire Station 56.
In memory of Lois donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia.
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