Lois L Ahrenholtz

Lois Lucille Ahrenholtz was born July 10, 1928 to Johannas and Rosa Riessen Christiansen. She died at the Manilla Manor in Manilla, Iowa, Sunday, January 12, 2014, at the age of eighty-five. Her nurturing began at an early age as she helped tend to the needs of her many younger siblings. Lois was the sixth in line of ten brothers and sisters.
Lois attended country school District #1 in Denison, and graduated from the Denison High School with the class of 1946. She was baptized in Christ August 1, 1928 at Zion Lutheran Church in Denison and later confirmed there on April 18, 1943. She worked for Lundquist Shoe Store where they offered to pay for her to attend a Business College in Chicago, but instead, while rollerskating one weekend she met and fell in love with a country boy from Defiance, Howard Ahrenholtz. They were married on March 7, 1948 and moved to the Defiance area to farm. This union was blessed with the birth of five children. Lois raised chickens and sold eggs to Defiance Produce, this provided income for all the households needs from furniture to food and clothing. She also worked meticulously to keep accounting records for their many business ventures. She enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening, baking, cooking, and sewing. She provided meals for her family as well as crews of farm hands. Lois and Howard enjoyed traveling to Hawaii and Arizona.
Lois taught Sunday school at the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Defiance. When the family moved to the Manilla area, in 1968, she transferred her church membership to Zion Lutheran Church in Denison. She served as President of Dorcas for several years. In Heaven, Lois joins her parents, her sister Mary Louise, brothers: Arthur, Edgar, Phillip, and her daughter Julia Rosa.
Lois is survived by her husband Howard of Manilla; her children Russell and his wife Marcia of Breckenridge, Colorado; Randall and his wife, Lisa of Manilla; Eugene and his wife, Sandy of Denison; and Joni Ahrenholtz of San Diego, California; fifteen grandchildren: Christopher, Matthew, Luke, Zachary, Jessica, Justin, Sara, Brooke, Travis, Amber, Brandon, Briana, Tyler, Devon, and Arielle and seven great-grandchildren: Emma, Isabella, Cade, Alicia, Ava, Dylan and Zane; five sisters: Jen Baker of Denison; Norma Juhl of Missouri Valley; Dorothy Smith and her husband, Duane of Nixa, Missouri; Janet Miller and her husband, Greg of Fort Collins, Colorado; Donna Jack and her husband, Donald of Phoenix, Arizona; one brother, Richard Christiansen and his wife, Nancy of Ann Arbor, Michigan; two sisters-in-law, Ilene Christiansen of Fort Collins, Colorado and Lois Christiansen of Valencia, California. Lois is also survived by her nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and many other relatives and friends.