Lois Washington was born on January 26, 1926, as Lois Williams, to James Hirsch of Arkansas and Sadie Williams of Georgia. She was the youngest and was preceded in death by her brother, Hilliard “Hickeyman” Williams.

Her father was a trucker. As a child, their mother passed away from tuberculosis. At the age of nine, with the help of her aunt and the church, she and her brother were adopted into the Lynch family. She was welcomed with love and gained three sisters: Ardella Lynch, Crystal Cummings, and Celeste Pless.

She graduated from Jane Addams High School in the late 1940s and married Leslie Charles Yarbrough in 1950. They later grew apart, and she remarried in 1958 to Leon Blackwell. From this union came a daughter, Tina Blackwell. Her daughter extended the family by giving her two grandchildren, Lydell M. Davis and Kiana D. Davis, who in turn gave her three great-grandchildren: Lydell M. Davis Jr., Keira D. Taylor, and Kamora C. Davis.

As time passed and her daughter grew, Lois became tired of “catching the bus to work in big houses.” When her brother signed up for college, she did too. She eventually earned a degree in office administration and became a secretary.

In 1973, she married her third husband, Herbert Washington, and enjoyed many years with her family in East Cleveland. She loved spending time with family, playing cards, dominoes, Pokeno, bingo, and her lottery — all while staying “sharp.” She loved to dress up, loved her perfume, and cherished her jewelry. She was well known for catching the midnight sales.

In the early 1990s, after divorcing and moving to Indian Hills, she turned her life over to God at her home church, Union Avenue Baptist Church — along with her other true love: her family and friends. She will always be remembered as a righteous and giving woman who touched many souls. After a long life, she spent her final days resting with family, and now her soul is at peace.

She will always be respected and remembered for her wisdom. She was a woman who lived through the Great Depression, segregation and desegregation, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, Jim Crow, the deaths of Black history heroes, and even witnessed a man walk on the moon. She also lived through the crack epidemic, the turn of the millennium, 9/11, and the pandemic. But one of her proudest moments was witnessing something she once thought impossible — a Black family in the White House: Barack and Michelle Obama. She was so proud to see the impossible become possible.

Lois, rest in peace and in power. We will always love and miss you.