Lois Edel Brandt Drews died peacefully on June 4, 2013 in Sandy, Utah, after a long illness.
Lois was born on September 10, 1927, in Iowa City, Iowa, descending from a long line of Norwegian Lutheran pastors. Lois grew up in the Bayridge area of Brooklyn, but often spent summers in the Midwest where many of her relatives lived.
Lois received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College and a Master’s degree in Library Science from Columbia University. Lois was involved with the Lutheran Student Movement where she met Bill Drews. Bill and Lois were married in 1952 in Brooklyn, New York. The two of them sang together in the Collegiate Chorale under the direction of Robert Shaw. The singing continued with Bill directing the church choir for a few years, and all of the family singing in various church choirs. Lois and Bill also sang in the Summit Chorale and a chamber group in New Jersey, and the Salt Lake Vocal Ensemble in Utah.
Lois' schooling in library science led her to keep travel diaries from the family vacations, and to organize and title all of the slides from the many vacations with their one daughter and four sons, leaving a wonderful record of the good times that the family enjoyed together.
Bill and Lois moved to Utah in 1983 for the mountains and skiing after his retirement. While Bill was retired Lois went back to work part time at Asarco in Salt Lake City, where she worked as the librarian for their environmental services center. Library science had changed a lot in the last 30 years, and Lois enjoyed learning about the new Internet and how records all around the country were available at her desk through this new technology.
Bill and Lois still took time off to ski and hike in the Wasatch Mountains, travel to near and far-off places, and to have reunions with her college friends who were still sending around a "round robin" letter. They especially enjoyed trips on the Sea of Cortez and Copper Canyon, Glacier Bay, and a trip by Lois to Saudi Arabia.
Preceded in death by her great-grandparents, Nils Olsen Brandt, Luther’s first campus pastor, and Diderikke Brandt (for whom Brandt Hall is named), her grandfather, REALF BRANDT (LC Class of 1877), parents Walther BRANDT ’15 and Elsie Brandt, husband William P. Drews, June 17, 1999, and her brother, Nels Brandt. She is survived by her sister, Emmy Lou (BRANDT) Benedict ‘53, children Ruth Drews ‘76 (Dean Peckham), New Haven, Conn., Paul Drews ‘79 (Kathleen Tyau), Gaston, Ore., Eric Drews ‘79, Mohawk N.Y., Carl Drews (Christine), Longmont, Colo., Michael Drews (Tara French), Sandy, Utah, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
The memorial service for Lois Drews was June 21, 2013, at Zion Lutheran Church, 1070 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, 801-582-2321. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Drews Brandt Family Scholarship fund at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, for students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Lois was a Life Member of President’s Council at Luther College.
