Lois J. Bennis

LOIS JEAN HERMAN BENNIS
Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister, and Friend
Poet, Photographer, Gardener, Doll Collector, Genealogist, Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer
Scrabble World Champion

Lois Jean "Lo-Gal" Herman Bennis passed away peacefully at her home in Lakewood, New Jersey with her loving family on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at the age of 87. Born in Elmira, NY, on September 8, 1928, Lois' family moved to Cranford. She was a 70-year resident of Cranford, New Jersey. Lois graduated in 1946 from Cranford High School and married her high-school sweetheart, William Bennis, in 1950. Lois was a life-long member and devoted 25-year veteran Sunday-School Teacher of Trinity Episcopal Church in Cranford. She devoted her life to homemaking and raising her four children with love, faith, and kindness. She provided guidance and comfort to those she shared her life with. She was an award-winning photographer and member of the Cranford Camera Club. Lois and her daughter, Mary, relocated in 2013 to Lakewood, New Jersey.

Her inner light inspired those around her. She possessed a fun-loving nature and loved making people laugh through her antics and games. She lived her life in pursuit of other people's happiness. Lois was devoted to her children and her grandchildren. Their every wish was her command. She was a world-renowned toy detective on behalf of her grandchildren, tirelessly searching all continents in pursuit of an elusive Teacher Barbie, a talking Teddy Ruxbin, or the Infamous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle April O'Neill. She loved all people, especially children. Wherever she went, people were drawn to her warmth & enthusiasm.
Lois was pre-deceased by her loving husband of 60 years, the Love of Her Life: William Arthur Bennis; her parents, Gladys Fuller Herman and Chester Herman; and her beloved brother, William Herman. She was a devoted and loving mother of four and grandmother of 11. She will be greatly missed by her children: Susan Bennis Ward and her husband, Joseph, and their seven children; Mary Ellen Bennis, her loving and devoted caregiver during the last years of her life; Joanne Bennis Hudak, her husband, Robert, and their two children; and William M. Bennis, his wife, Kelly, and their two children. Also surviving are her beloved brothers and sisters-in-law, Judd & Barbara Herman, Peter & Joann Herman, and Jeanne & Kenneth Meier. Her numerous nieces and nephews, along with her very dear lifelong friends, will mourn her passing.
Lois was a faith-filled believer in Jesus Christ. Her family rejoices in the knowledge that she is now reunited in Heaven with her beloved Bill & family members.

Her light shines on!
"Time holds promise
In her arms
Beyond the darkest night
To embrace tomorrow
Take away the sorrow
From a human heart." By Lois Jean Bennis