Lois Jean Arnold Gordon age 98 of Purdum, NE passed away December 15, 2022, at the Jennie M Melham Memorial Medical Center at Broken Bow.
Memorial services will be Sunday, June 18, 2023, at 2:00 pm at the United Church of Christ in Purdum, NE. Inurnment will be in the Purdum Cemetery at Purdum. Memorials are suggested to Purdum Cemetery. Govier Brothers Mortuary are in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.govierbrothers.com.
Lois led a life of service and love for family, community, faith and country. She was born in Valentine, Nebraska, October 23, 1924, the second of three daughters, to Eddy and Mary (Jackson) Arnold. Her family moved to live on her grandparents’ homestead in Purdum when she was a toddler. After graduating high school in 1943 from UNSA at Curtis, she received a B.A. in Psychology from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. She moved to Michigan in 1949, attending college in Ypsilanti. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science and an Occupational Therapy Certificate from EMU In 1953.
A position with the National Society for Crippled Children and Adults took Lois to Denver, Colorado. Lois joined the U.S. Army there, serving active duty 1956-1960, reserves until 1966, advancing to the rank of Captain. Lois moved to California in 1961 to work for the California State School for Cerebral Palsied Children at Altadena. She later worked at the State College in Los Angeles, then with handicapped children in San Bernardino County schools. Lois met her future husband, Carl Gordon in Los Angeles.
Lois returned to live in Purdum in 1974 to help her aging parents. She was an active member of the Purdum Congregational Church. She served two missions with groups from church to Ghana, Africa.
Lois married Carl Gordon in 1988. They enjoyed ten years together in the sandhills. Carl died May 18, 1998. Lois married Keith Jahn in 2006. They lived in Purdum for 16 years. Lois died December 15, 2022.
Lois was preceded in death by husband, Carl Gordon; parents father Eddy B. Arnold; mother, Mary Jackson Arnold; sisters, Rachel Arnold Williams, Margaret Arnold Hay; nephews, Charles Williams, Roger Williams, and Kenneth Williams.
Lois is survived by husband, Keith Jahn (now deceased); nephew, Eddy Williams; nieces, Linda Hay Wininger, M. Elaine Hay Garza, Jeanette Hay Reinsch, Katherine Hay Martin, and Dana Hay Asdel.