Lois M. Neuwirth

Lois Neuwirth, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, cousin and dear friend to many, left her earthly life on August 21, 2011 at the age of 79. She missed her 80th birthday by 15 days. Lois was surrounded by her loved ones on the days before, and the day of, her death. She went to be with her dear Bill, her husband of almost 60 years. He died on July 21st; she on August 21st. Lois had been ill for a very long time and died peacefully at The Denver Hospice. Her family rejoices that she is no longer sick and in the arms of God and Bill. Lois left a large and close family. Her surviving family includes: Lyn Wazny and her three children: Phil, Jenna and Katie. Also, Phil's wife Jane and their daughters Anna and Julia Lori Ratliff and her children Jacob and Amy Bill Neuwirth Tom and wife Kathleen Neuwirth and their four children; Jesse, Caroline, Jonas, (and wife Tana and their children Cole and Kira); Ben (and Emily and their son Graham) Marianne Neuwirth She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Margaret, and brother Mike. Lois was born in Jersey City, NJ in 1931. She met Bill when they were 13-years-old and went on to be sweethearts for the rest of their lives. Prior to married life with Bill, she forged a professional life as a top-notch ""Girl Friday"" for several businesses after graduating at the top of her class from the prestigious Katherine Gibbs secretarial school in New York City. She and Bill became engaged in 1950 and were separated for seven months when he was stationed in the Air Force at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver during the Korean War. They wrote over 400 letters back and forth during this time. They were married on December 29, 1951 in New Jersey and had to wait another two months to be reunited in Denver. First child, Linda, was born during that time in Denver. Bill and Lois returned to New Jersey for three years where second daughter, Lori, was born. They longed for Denver and returned to Colorado, never to leave. The family moved to Broomfield in 1958 and welcomed third child, Bill. He was followed 16 months later by Tom and another 16 months later by youngest child, Marianne. Lois became a mother to five children in eight years! While Bill was growing his advertising agency, Lois was the ""captain of the ship,"" managing the household and the lives of five very active children. She was an indomitable force and totally dedicated and committed to her family. Each kid knew they were in big trouble when Lois would say, ""Jesus, Mary and Joseph, give me patience!"" The incident would resolve itself with love, hugs and a lesson learned. Through the years, she was a model of decency, honesty and always love, even if a child was being less than lovable. She was the disciplinarian but always fair. She and Bill's teachings of how to live a good and kind life has been passed down to their five grown children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and Neuwirth generations to come. Theirs was a household full of love, laughter, camaraderie support and music. Lois was an accomplished pianist for many years and the family will have fond memories of her beautifully playing Debussy's ""Clair de Lune,"" and ""Silent Night"" at Christmastime. Lois was a tiny woman (five feet) who had intelligence, culture, style and beauty. One of the many gifts she gave her children was the love of words. She had a tremendous vocabulary and was curious about many things. Even later in her life when she was so sick, Lois enjoyed watching ""Animal Planet"" to keep learning about nature and wildlife. As a devout Catholic, throughout her life Lois extended her deep faith and love of teaching to others. She served as a teacher for many years to 4th, 5th and 6th graders starting in the late 1960's at the then newly created Nativity of Our Lord parish in Broomfield. She also established a new Board of Education in 1967 at the church. Lois was deeply involved in the parish for many years until moving to Littleton. Later in her life, she was especially proud that she received her Master's in Theology from St. Thomas Seminary in 1986, one of the few women or lay people to do so. Her faith, coupled with her sense of adventure took her to the Holy Land to the back of a camel in Egypt! She and Bill traveled to many places around the world and also took the entire family to a yearly trip to the YMCA Camp of the Rockies in Estes Park. We also have great memories of traveling to Mesa Verde and taking a family cruise (17 of us!) to the Bahamas. Lois especially enjoyed the winter vacations because she was a daring snowmobile driver. The family had many wonderful adventures in the beautiful Colorado Rockies. Even while raising five children Lois found time to learn karate, scuba diving, Spanish, and water color painting. During the last four and a half years of her life, Lois was ill in home hospice and Bill took care of her. She continued to have her great humor and wit, warmth and concern for her family. During her final days she was put into The Denver Hospice. We received such care and compassion from the entire staff. Lois did have a life well-lived and she will be remembered as the wonderful Mom and Nonnie that she was. The family knows she is in paradise and her suffering is over. However, that won't make her missed any less. Lois' family wishes to express a deep and sincere thanks to the kind staffs at Mapleton Care Center and The Denver Hospice for taking such compassionate and excellent care of her. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in Lois' name to Catholic Charities. Please share your memories of Lois and condolences with her family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" button.