Lois Tyson
Age - 80
August 8, 2023
Lois L. Tyson, aged 80 years, a long-time resident of Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois, passed away on July 23, 2023 from the effects of a glioblastoma. Lois was born in E. St. Louis and was a graduate of Lincoln Senior High School. Subsequently, she went to Southern Illinois University, where she majored in Elementary Education with a concentration in English. Fellow student Spencer Tyson and Lois were married, bore two daughters, Kimberly and Nicole, and moved to Georgia, New Jersey, and back to Illinois. Lois earned a master's degree in education and a real estate license. Mrs. Tyson taught in public schools in Alton, Illinois, and in the Oak Park elementary school district for more than two decades. Rich engagement with people makes life full. Spencer and Lois traveled the world, threw parties, and valued their familial relationships and friendships. Lois loved her friends and extended family to bits. Her special interests included writing, at which she was extremely skilled; cooking and baking, known for her famously flavorful carrot cake; dancing, and shopping. She loved political debate and political action, working for causes through her involvement with the Democratic Party of Oak Park. Lois believed in the call for her generation to reach out to young women and belonged to the P. E. O. sisterhood. From 2014 to 2017, Lois was president for the P. E. O. local. Pilgrim Congregational Church was her spiritual home; she loved fellow congregants and its mission of service, community outreach, and liberation, with God as the hub of it all. Lois was a strong supporter of PACTT, the autism service organization that works with Nicole. Years prior to their deaths, a wish to improve the health care for all black Americans inspired Lois and Spencer to enroll in the Minority Aging Research Study with Rush University's Alzheimer's Center. Lois is mourned by her daughters and son-in-law, Nathan Goldbaum. Her husband, Spencer, preceded her in death by in April this year. Her parents, siblings Otis Granger, Jr. , and Bernadette Barry, in addition to nieces Denise Michelle Tyson, Sheila Patterson, and Leslie Tyson, preceded her in death. Mourning her absence are her sisters, Mary S. Lauburg and Eloise Granger; her brother- in-law, John Barry, Sr. ; her sister-in-law, Anita Carter (Freddie); her nieces and nephews: Mark Lauburg (Ann), Dr. Vanessa Cohen-Gibbons (Jen), John W. Barry (Angel), Jerome Burton, Dawn Burton, Dayne Tyson, Bonita Washington (Larnel), Deidra Moore (Dennis), Lorraine Lucas, Nathan Tyson (Tobie), Regan Hickman, Jimmie Wilson, Jr. , Debra Wilson, Missy White, Charles Cooper, Dr. Carol Goldbaum (Tess Schmieg), and Elizabeth Thomas (Stan Sheft). There is an even longer list of extended family and friends who mourn her absence. Visitation will take place at the Peterson-Bassi Chapels, located at 6938 W. North Avenue in Chicago on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, 11:00 AM, at Pilgrim Congregational Church--United Church of Christ, 460 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois. The funeral service will be broadcast, so please contact the church for details. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Parents Allied with Children and Teachers for Tomorrow at . She also appreciates any support for the P. E. O. at and to Pilgrim Congregational Church at . To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of , please .Show more
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