Lois Lawson Zabel, age 92, of Wilmington, passed away peacefully on February 21, 2019 after a brief illness.
Lois was born in Oak Park, Illinois and later attended the University of Wisconsin where she graduated with a B.S. in Education. It was in college that she met Robert Zabel, with whom she shared 53 years of marriage. Early in the couple’s life, they moved to New Jersey where their three children, Bruce, Nancy and Brad were born. Following Bob’s job transfer within DuPont, they relocated to Wilmington and would call this home for the remainder of their lives.
Lois did substitute teaching before going back to get her Masters in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Delaware. She was a guidance counselor at William Penn High School until her retirement. She was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority and held many offices in the Alpha Gamma Alumni Club including serving as president and receiving the Arc of Epsilon service award.
Lois was also a member of the Swedish Colonial Society and a 50-year member of the DuPont Country Club. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, knitting, the computer and reading her newspaper daily ~ always ready to discuss politics and current events. Lois was very active in so many facets of her life, with the steadfast help of her caregiver, Janet Carman, right up to her death. She was a loyal and longstanding member of Concordia Lutheran Church having served on the Altar Guild and relished visits and coffee time with Pastors Dave Kummer and John Hetrick. Lois was a regular attendee of the U of D Lifelong Learning Academy, typically enrolled in five courses per semester.
Perhaps most of all, she valued staying in touch with her family and will be deeply missed by all: sons, Bruce and Brad (wife Amanda); daughter, Nancy Haigh (husband David); her sister, Ruth Martin in California; her nieces and nephews; and her eight grandchildren and their spouses, Tamara Evers (Jason), Justin Zabel, Talbot Zabel, Stacey Fischer (John), Karen Watson (Luke), Jeanette Henke (Jordan), Tim Haigh (Heather), Ryan Zabel (Leslie) and Lillian Feldman (Mike). With the blessing of a long life, she attended all her grandchildren’s weddings and was able to spend time with her great-grandchildren, Desi, Trevor, Elorah, Jeriah, Abigail, Elijah and Grayson.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Concordia Lutheran Church, 3003 Silverside Road, Wilmington, DE 19810.
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