Lois (Allen) Maag was a woman of purpose, packed with talent, and fueled by the Lord. She was driven by a spirit of motivation was not easily detoured, though she would pause to take in the beauty of God’s creation or to uplift the weary.
Lois attended Savannah grade & High School where she won poppy poster contests and alumni essay awards. She also attended Missouri Western State College and Hillyard Technical School.
Lois was taught to play guitar by her mother at a very early age. Jammed country music where she met her husband, Allen Maag. Lois was 16 when they married. They had a son, Allen Leon Maag and a daughter, Karen Sue Maag Gibbs.
Lois baby sat, cleaned houses, took in ironings, sewed jackets for the Moila, baked wedding cakes and worked in the dark room and tinted photographs with transparent oils at Strathmann Studio.
She gave guitar, piano, and organ lessons in her home and at McCoy Music which became Lanham Music. She played for church, weddings, funerals, social functions and taught music at St. Francis Xavier parochial school.
She worked in the I V department at Sherwood medical, was a Kelly girl and worked at Fermenta, Maxon, and Quaker Oats in the clean up crew. She worked at Little Angels Daycare, and was secretary for Inter Faith Community Services at Calvin Center for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program which had over 600 volunteers.
She worked in the service department at Montgomery Ward, for the St. Joseph Telegraph and became a Certified Nurses Assistant, working in several nursing homes, specialized in care of residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
She was in Toastmasters and won first place in a Humorous Speech contest. She has directed children's choirs and was director and teacher in Vacation Bible School. She taught Sunday School and Youth Club, led women's Bible studies and prayer groups.
She wrote music and poetry and for many years as an expression of her deep faith and love for family and people. Her paintings were a continuation of that expression. She went on to write her mother’s story and is a published author. Of all she accomplished, she counted the greatest achievement teaching her family that God is Love.
Her life remained a testimony, even in the face of adversity, and during the grips of dementia. Though it was heart wrenching to see vision draining from a mind, she made more use of her leftover vision than some muster in a lifelong endeavor. Even in the desperation of her circumstances she believed God was in control and thanked him.
She left behind a writing on the cabinet door that reads:
To Those I Love,
If I should ever leave, you whom I love,
To go along the silent way,
Grieve not nor speak of me with tears,
But laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you,
For who knows but that I shall be often times?
I’d come, I’d come,
Could I but find a way!
But would not grief and tears be barriers?
And when you hear a song I used to sing
Or see a bird I love –
Let not the thought of me be sad,
For I am loving you just as I always have.
You were so good to me –
So many, many things I wanted still to do –
Remember that I did not fear,
For my Savior I will see.
It was just leaving you
I could not bear to face.
We cannot see beyond,
But this I know: I loved you so –
Twas heaven here with you.
