Lois Miller Stephens

Lois Stephens, age 92, our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and friend passed away peacefully on Monday morning, November 3, 2025 in Reno, Nevada. Her husband of 71 years, Ralph, and daughter Julie were at her side as she passed on, 18 days before her 93rd birthday.

Lois was born in New Milford, Connecticut, the fifth child of Frank and Elsie Miller. She was raised on a dairy and vegetable farm in Kent, Connecticut with her four sisters Mary, Bertha (Bea), Jessie, and Elsie (June), and her one brother Dwight (Joe). Her father Frank ran the farm for Kent Boys’ School (now Kent School), a college-preparatory boarding school in the mountains of beautiful western Connecticut along the Housatonic River. It was here that Lois learned to love nature and the beauty of New England, especially in the fall, her favorite season. Through the years, she would always look forward to the colorful leaves of autumn, commenting that they were never as lovely as the ones in New England.

Lois’s middle name, Pierpont, honors family heritage on both her mother’s and father’s side. One of her grandsons, Eli Stephens, carries on the family tradition with Pierpont as his middle name.

Lois was proud of her Pierpont heritage. One of her favorite hymns, For the Beauty of the Earth, was written by a relative, Folliott Sandford Pierpont. Another relative, Rev. James Pierpont, a Congregationalist minister in Connecticut, Lois’s home state, was instrumental in founding Yale University, where her son Mark attended college. She was also very pleased that a third relative, a different James Pierpont, wrote a song that we are all familiar with, Jingle Bells!

Lois graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 1950, riding the school bus 18 miles each way. She went on to earn an elementary school teaching degree in 1954 at Danbury Teachers College in Danbury, CT (now Western Connecticut State University). She taught school for several years in both her hometown of Kent and in Albany, New York before committing to raising her three children. She had a teacher’s heart throughout her life, working with children as a Sunday school teacher, Girl Scout leader, and church youth group helper.

At a Christmas dance in Kent in 1953, Lois met Ralph Stephens, a handsome young Harvard University student. Ralph grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada but spent that Christmas with relatives in Connecticut. He and his cousin heard about the dance in Kent and decided to crash the party. Lois was tending the punch bowl when Ralph asked her to dance – he was instantly smitten, claiming ever since that he immediately fell in love with her beautiful smile. Motivated by that smile, Ralph and his cousin returned to Kent the next week for a New Year’s Eve party. After the holidays, Ralph told his college roommate that he had met the woman who would be the mother of his children.

Through the winter and spring, Ralph and Lois spent time together in both Danbury and Boston. In July 1954, six months after meeting, Ralph and Lois married at a small wedding in Newton, Massachusetts. She had just graduated from college, while Ralph had two more years at Harvard. The wedding was announced and planned with little heads-up to family and friends. Lois’ father Frank didn’t attend, saying it was too good a day for haying!

Lois and Ralph started their adventure of 71 years of marriage that summer with a road trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to meet Ralph’s family and friends. That trip across the country was an eye-opening experience for the small-town Connecticut gal who had never seen such big mountains and wide-open spaces. Over the years, Lois came to love the West but was always nostalgic for New England in the fall.

Lois was by Ralph’s side through the years of Ralph’s college education (Cambridge, MA), medical school (Albany, NY), public health service (Birmingham, AL and Crow Agency, MT), specialty medical training in ophthalmology (Iowa City, IA), and initial private medical practice (Las Vegas, NM – yes NM, not NV), and finally Reno, NV, settling there in 1969. Quite an adventurous and busy life for the girl from small town New England, especially raising three children along the way.

Lois was a devoted, involved, and loving mother to Cynthia (1955), Mark (1957), and Julie (1960), then later in life a proud and loving Grandma to six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Lois truly enjoyed nature. She preferred being outside, whether doing yard work (“those darn dandelions”), hiking in the mountains, picnics in the parks, or lying in her hammock under the apple and elm trees in the backyard. She enjoyed playing tennis, swimming, cross-country skiing, backpacking, ice skating, snowshoeing, camping, and hiking into her late 70s. She was a member of The Hiking Housewives and was active in both trail building and maintenance on the Tahoe Rim Trail. She enjoyed taking walks in the neighborhood, often taking along a bag to pick up garbage along the way.

After her children were adults, Lois worked in Ralph’s ophthalmology office as his receptionist for 22 years until they both retired in 2004. She enjoyed getting to know Ralph’s varied and interesting patients. Working together gave Lois and Ralph freedom to set their own schedule, allowing them to enjoy time together, to pursue their own interests and activities, and to travel.

Two of their shared interests were singing and dancing, including in the kitchen every morning, and during the Lawrence Welk show every Saturday night. They passed these joys onto their children; it was part of their family life, singing around the house and on car trips. Lois also sang in school and church choirs throughout her life. Lois and Ralph enjoyed calling family members on their birthdays to sing them “Happy Birthday” in perfect harmony.

Attending and being involved in church was important to Lois from an early age in Kent until her last days in Reno. She committed to local churches in every community she lived in and passed this devotion on to her children. In Reno, she attended St. John’s Presbyterian Church for many years before returning to her Connecticut roots as a member of the First Congregational Church of Reno. She participated in all aspects of church life, making newcomers feel welcome with her friendly smile and cheerful ways. For many years, she also participated in Bible Study Fellowship, a national non-denominational organization that studies the Bible in depth.

Lois volunteered with many community and charitable organizations during her 56 years in Reno. These included the Doctors’ Wives of Washoe County with their famous rummage sales, Friends of Washoe County Library, scouting programs with her children, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Good Shepherd Clothes Closet, Nevada Museum of Art, ushering at Reno Philharmonic concerts, and reading with elementary school kids needing extra help (she was always a teacher). She was also involved with her children’s schools, helping in the classrooms, working with the PTAs, helping with AFS (American Field Service) at Reno High School, and attending lots of sporting events supporting her kids.

Favorite pastimes included reading books, magazines, and the local newpaper, along with doing jigsaw puzzles. She often had a puzzle in the works, enjoying scenes from nature. Earlier in life she enjoyed knitting and sewing. For many years she attended and eventually volunteered to lead “Sit and Be Fit” classes, a chair exercise program for seniors, at a local community center.

Lois and Ralph enjoyed traveling, visiting family, exploring the backroads of the United States by car, and camping with their kids. The family took a memorable trip to Mexico in the early 1970s. Later in life, Lois and Ralph traveled together to Hong Kong, New Zealand, Norway, and Hawaii. They also took cruises to Alaska, Mexico, and the Caribbean, including traversing the Panama Canal. Lois also traveled with a friend to Spain and Portugal. Exploring the wilds of Nevada was another favorite activity, enjoying the wide-open spaces and starry nights.

In addition to exploring the United States by car, Lois flew with Ralph in his Cessna 182 four-seater airplane. They spent many hours flying to visit family and exploring the western United States.

Lois was the last remaining member of her Connecticut family, predeceased by her parents and five siblings.

She is survived by her loving husband of 71 years, Ralph Stephens; daughter Cindy Stephens of Spokane, WA; son Mark Stephens (Margie) of Vail, CO; and daughter Julie Harris (Lelan) of Reno, NV.

In addition to immediate family, she is survived by six grandchildren: McClees Stephens (James), Canela Beck (Darin), Wesley Stephens (Tara), Vanessa Beck, Bay Stephens (Katie), and Eli Stephens (Sarah). Also five great-grandsons – Wade, Orry, Tiago, Huck, and Milo (with another one on the way) – and one great-granddaughter, Morwenna (Winnie).

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 2:00 PM at First Congregational Church of Reno. A reception will follow at the church.

For those wishing to participate but cannot attend in person, the service will be livestreamed via the church’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@firstcongregationalchurcho1276/streams

In lieu of flowers, and if you feel inclined, donations can be made in Lois’ memory to the First Congregational Church of Reno or the Tahoe Rim Trail Association.