Lois Reynolds: From the Model T to the Tesla

Lois Reynolds receiving birthday wishes from the Lewisboro Garden Club a few years ago. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

By MAUREEN L. KOEHL

It is very difficult to write a short story about a long life, but that is what Cross River resident Lois Elizabeth Reynolds, who passed away peacefully at her childhood home on July 18, enjoyed. 

She was the last surviving local member of the Reynolds family, a founding family of our town, three of whom formed the Cross River Baptist Church in 1789. The family’s roots reach back before the Revolutionary War; Reynolds farmed the fields, ran local businesses and sustained the church for more than 200 years.

Lois was born to Edwin and Marion Reynolds on May 31, 1919, in the family homestead on the dirt road that is now Route 35. She is survived by her niece, Carol Ann DeRose; her nephews, Kenneth and Richard; and a host of grand- and great-grand-nieces and nephews. Her siblings, Robert and Joyce, predeceased her. 

Lois was a quiet soul with a sense of adventure and “doing what is right for people.”

Former Lewisboro Senior Adults Director Pam Veith lamented the fact that today’s members of that group didn’t know Lois, her active time in the organization was long over. Longevity is a blessing, but it has its bittersweet side, too, Veith noted. Over her many decades Lois was a Girl Scout leader, president of the Lewisboro Seniors and treasurer of the CRBC. She retired from the New York Central Railroad in 1984 after 42 years of service.  

Friends and family at Lois’ life celebration had stories and fond memories. Her grandniece, Sandi Badowski, was thankful that Aunt Lois had lived long enough to meet and rejoice in knowing her two daughters, Lois’ great-grandnieces. Niece Carol Ann remembered spending time in the summer with her two aunts, Lois and her sister, Joyce, and being taken to Playland and Rye Beach. Carol Ann said her aunt was like a mom to her. A longtime friend, Dana Foster, and his wife, Mickey, had many favorite memories, and Dana noted that Lois always had stories to share and there was no escaping the telling. She told of long train rides across the country, traveling on her NYCRR railroad pass. She was sharing stories with him until shortly before her death.

Nephew Richard had tales of camping adventures with Lois and Joyce on a family trip to Yellowstone National Park in 2001. Lois remarked that it was the first time she had slept in a sleeping bag since her Girl Scout days 65 years before. He also related how his two aunts had a love for cars, mostly Dodges bought from Tator’s Dodge dealership in South Salem.

“If you ever got a chance to drive with the girls in the Cross River area you would have thought that they grew up on a racetrack, and apparently, they bought a car from Tator’s that had wide racing stripes up the middle of the car,” remembered Richard. According to him, “Later, when Lois was having trouble seeing and Joyce was starting to show early signs of dementia, it required both of them to get anywhere — one to navigate and the other to steer!” That’s when the nephews and niece decided it was time to take away the keys.

We will all remember Lois Reynolds for her love of people and of life … she enjoyed gardening, and especially as life slowed down sitting on her back porch and watching the birds that flocked to her feeders and entertaining friends who would stop by to talk. She never tired of telling of the big, black dog that crossed the backyard one day not too long ago, but that was no dog, it was a large black bear! 

Nephew Richard summed Lois’s 106 years well. 

“I will always remember Lois for her adventurous spirit, her love of community, her quick smile and signature laugh, and of course her tears of joy which often flowed when she told you she loved you,” he said. “Rest in Peace, Aunt Lois — you done real, real good!”

Maureen Koehl is the Lewisboro Town Historian.