Submitted by Nicole W

I heard about this tragedy while the victim was still unidentified, and I was studying midwifery at a birth center in Florida, focusing on racial health disparities. I later found out it was Miss Swenson, one of my teachers in the 1985-86 school year in the Robbinsdale district. She was an entirely new experience for this 6th grader, I had never met anyone who had been to another country before, I had never known anyone who had African American friends, I had never heard anything about the world in which she lived.

Miss Swenson was the first person who ever made real for me the people in this country and across the world who do not have enough to eat, or a safe place to sleep at night.

Miss Swenson was the first person to teach me about about where things that are "thrown away" actually go, and why we should put less of them there.

Miss Swenson worked very hard to encourage we very young girls not to grow up too fast.

I remember lessons on African dance, acupuncture, the importance of clean water, and a contest that rewarded the student who could most efficiently use and reuse a piece of notebook paper. It was a lesson in Miss Swenson's class that brought recycling into my parent's home permanently.

I am grateful for all of these lessons from Miss Swenson and am sad that she never knew the impact she made on me, but I am happy that I can share my story with all of you.

Submitted by Nicole Hiedeman...

Written in September 2012 for Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.  We do a yearly Peace Offering and this year we decided to donate our local share of the offering to Lois’ Fund for Peace. Justice and Sustainable Communities.

When I think of our Peacemaking Offering, I can’t pull my thoughts away from a dear family friend who passed away in June. Lois Swenson died as a result of a homicide, and the first reports were of an elderly woman killed in her home in North Minneapolis. Lois acted anything but “elderly”: she was more active in her daily life than anyone I know, both in her community and well beyond, and she loved being a part of her North Minneapolis neighborhood.

I met Lois in a train station in Mexico City in 1989. My mom and stepdad took us to meet Lois so she could introduce us to the people and places she knew in Mexico. Lois did not travel the tourist trail but instead befriended families in the barrios, helping them by first understanding their hopes and dreams, and then talking about the ways in which she could help. She wanted to educate others, like my family, about these people and the vast differences between our everyday lives and theirs. Lois allowed us (a group of six) and many others to see that our possessions should not define or predict what our hopes and dreams might be. I learned from Lois that we have more similarities with poor families in Mexico than one would expect. We all hope for peace and justice.

Lois remained a part of my extended family since that trip to Mexico and had been especially active in our lives in the past ten years as she was diagnosed with cancer and had two hip replacements. She was a very energetic and hopeful woman.

Through her death, I have learned more about Lois and her efforts for peace and justice. These efforts went beyond Minneapolis into various countries around the world. She worked in Ethiopia and Central America as well as with refugees in Minneapolis. She was a tireless woman who always drew people deeper into thinking about the effects of their own behaviors and perceptions about other people. She was also very practical in her approach to these concepts. She did not hold a political office but was very active in advocacy for the poor and powerless. She built her community wherever she walked and worked. She would often ask a student what they were protesting, rather than what their major was. She always put the other first, wherever she lived or traveled, and encouraged others to do the same.

I have many memories of Lois, both old and new. One I will hold dear is her smile and laughter as we played spoons at our family dinner last Easter. She will forever smile in my mind as I make choices and think about “What Would Lois Do” (WWLD)..

Submitted by Janie Johnson...

                      Missing Lois

Submitted by Toni Collins...

Today I was returning from our local handi-stop with a carton of half/half.  I would sometimes pick up a carton on my way over to Lois's for breakfast.  We would often have these joint breakfasts where I would bring something to add to what she would provide.
 
On my way home, I was sharing with a neighbor how this was such a difficult time.  She responded, that she remembered Lois as she was the woman who would offer dill to neighbors to simply enjoy its visual beauty as a flower or be soothed by its fragrance as an aromatic or satisfied by its taste as a herb. 
 
This was Lois - all encompassing - offering beauty, succor and completion - to all that she encountered.  Her message to others was one of paradox in that dill is fragile, often difficult to transplant  but with care and attention will take root as the human spirit blossoms when it is nurtured and the earth is replenished and honored with loving care.    Peace,

Submitted by Tod Pulvermacher...

Here’s a little something I wrote for Lois’s Minneapolis family and finaly got to read it for our Arena Family

My name is Tod Pulvermacher and for 5 generations my family has had the pleasure of farming next to and with the Swenson family in arena Wis. As my father has so aptly stated many times, we are so lucky to have this great connection, without their influence I would probably have become a narrow minded conservative. I chose my attire in honor of Lois. Ad you know she did things her way, and one of her favorite little jokes was to wear mismatched  socks (show mismatched socks) because there were more important things to do, and if anybody pointed this out, she would say she had an identical pair at home. I think a book could be written on life lessons from Lois and here are some things I was lucky enough to have  gleaned  from her.

2. People are people the world over.   As the diversity of her friends show, people from all locals and walks of life have more in common than not, In her travels and teachings she strive to show us the similarities we all share

3. Consumerism is not the path to happiness, dumpster diving is the way to go.   For longer then I’ve been alive Lois taught us that reduce, reuse and recycle are tenants to live by. As a kid I had the pleasure of spending a week or 2 most summers up in the cities with Lois. I still remember the conversation she had with a security guard momentarily after tossing me into a dumpster behind a grocery store, or the time I came out of a subway with a sandwich in a bag and she marched straight in there and explained how, to the kids behind the counter ,how they ought to have plates and silverware

4. Sustainable organic agriculture is vital.  Lois influence directly led to her brothers and my family’s 2 farms having at one time supplied half of organic valleys milk. My cousin Kallan carries on this tradition as an organic dairy farmer on her Brother Paul’s farm. And many of you know the time and energy she spent advocating and participating in community and cosmopolitan gardening.

5. Think globally and act locally   As I have read and learned more about the corporate misdeeds this world is plagued with, it is hard not to become dejected and disenfranchised. I was always amazed by Lois’s ability to keep fighting the good fight. When I asked her about this she gave me her little laugh and said “you can’t change the world in a day but every little bit helps”. It was beautiful the way Lois was able to be conscious  of so many things in life that should be changed for the better, and for so many years let her words and actions influence all of us to do what we can, to strive for a better world.

And this is but a bit of what this great woman had to show us, I haven’t touched upon her many other areas of expertise including worker rights, women’s rights, the many other ways she fought for the environment , her ability to help anybody out in any circumstance, or the plethora of other causes she championed. It is amazing, how she spent every wakeful moment bettering this world of ours.

I’d like to finish up with a couple stories with sides of Lois some may not have known. First is her love of hot rod cars. Sometime in the early seventies my father took her for a spirited ride in his muscle car, which included rapid acceleration, quicker deceleration and much sliding around the corners. After this quick little jaunt ended I guess Lois abruptly exited the car far more white and silent then most of us had ever  seen her. But over the years she must have changed a little because I’ll now tell you about Lois the burn out queen, that right, little Lois Swenson had a penchant for laying black marks, right here in Minn.  One summer, me and my cousin kal were staying with her, ya know it was like a foreign exchange program for us country boys, After going to a museum, the library, or probably rummaging in others rubbish, Lois was complaining that her Brilliantly bright red, naa ok, slightly sun faded dodge Omni wasn’t running right. Well a couple of old farm hands like us who had been behind the wheel since about 8 or 10 knew right off what the problem was. Her motor was carboned up and needed to be cleaned out. We explained how she needed to do some burnouts. After much pleading and prodding she gave in to us. We explained how she needed to rev the engine and ssslide her foot of the clutch, which led to some small amount of scratching and squealing out of that poor little 4 banger as Lois sat there grimacing and biting her lip in concentration. We were so happy to have gotten her to do it and were sure she had taken us seriously even as she told her friends about it in mock seriousness

Next I’d like to share with you the time Lois got pulled over with a loaded rifle next to the shifter. Lois used to have chickens when ever she’d come back for the summer. Well being her coop was only in a slightly better state of disrepair the pine house,( her summer retreat) the raccoons had a smorgasbord every night. So Lois had a vendetta out against every coon in a 5 mile radius. So nightly she would load up the car with a couple of my cousins and a few Forseth kids and go coon bashing.

So one night Lois along with Lauren and his trusty spiked bat and Kal with Deans rusty .22 were on the prowl down on coon rock Rd(yes that’s really where we live is coon rock rd). As they stopped to pursue some vermin, a cop happened by and stopped to investigate Lois’s single head light. I wish I could say this was a rarity but being as country as we are that was an average Friday night( the cruzin back roads, not the copper) As the cop is walking up, Lois is serenely sitting there as Lauren and Kal are shitting tacks. Lois had no idea somebody would have a problem with her and two teenagers cruzing around with a loaded rifle between the seats, shooting woodland creatures. Well there just happened to be enough “stuff” in the car for the guys to cover  up the gun and the officer went on his way.

It’s amazing that a woman so worldly could be so oblivious of laws and regulations. Ya know I don’t think the tags on Lois’s car were ever within 3 years of current.  On our way up to the Midwest energy fair Leah Forseth said we need to get bracelets or something that say something like WWLD “What would Lois Do”   We all should stop every now and then and ask ourselves what would Lois do.  It really hurts that this amazing women will never again share a conversation with me but she lives on in all of us. Lois I will always be a scroungy dumpster diver.

Submitted by Toni Collins...

Today I was returning from our local handi-stop with a carton of half/half.  I would sometimes pick up a carton on my way over to Lois's for breakfast.  We would often have these joint breakfasts where I would bring something to add to what she would provide.
 
On my way home, I was sharing with a neighbor how this was such a difficult time.  She responded, that she remembered Lois as she was the woman who would offer dill to neighbors to simply enjoy its visual beauty as a flower or be soothed by its fragrance as an aromatic or satisfied by its taste as a herb. 
 
This was Lois - all encompassing - offering beauty, succor and completion - to all that she encountered.  Her message to others was one of paradox in that dill is fragile, often difficult to transplant  but with care and attention will take root as the human spirit blossoms when it is nurtured and the earth is replenished and honored with loving care.    Peace,

Submitted by Char Vick...

In 1979 the Vick family—Jim, Char,  Doug, Beth, Matt, Sarah and Alissa—moved  next door to Lois’ house in North Minneapolis and stayed there for thirteen years. There we found the most wonderful neighbor, Lois Swenson, friend, teacher, activist and role model.  More than almost anyone else I know, she lived a life of giving, concerned about world hunger, willing to take in refugees, mentoring our children, teaching them and others about resource conservation and recycling.  Eventually she retired from her teaching job to spend full time trying to help promote peace.  The variety of people who lived with her taught us about the world.  Where else would you be able to befriend a refugee from Ethiopia and learn directly about their civil war and the suffering people experienced? Even after we moved, she remained a constant friend.

Our family has many Lois stories, for example:

1. Many times she brought over produce and bread from the dumpsters.  It was always important to hide these objects from the kids or when presented with French toast they’d say, “I won’t eat this—Lois dug these out of the dumpster.”

2. At Lois’s 50^th birthday party my 9 year old daughter Alissa won a door prize of an old broken down Volkswagen which sat in Lois’ back yard.  She cried when I told her she couldn’t keep it but Lois saved the day by letting Alissa sit in it whenever she wanted. 

3. I feel that Lois helped parent my kids.  Frequently she would take them along to rallies or marches.  As early adults, both Doug and Matt lived with her.  They can tell you in detail about how cold it was on winter days and how she taught them to take short showers and not wash clothes too often.

4. One summer Lois decided to reduce noxious emissions by getting rid of her gas lawn mower and instead purchase a lamb to groom her grass.  Unfortunately the lamb preferred the clover of the park over the weeds in her lawn.  So she brought him across the street to graze. 

As a bunch of neighbors were gabbing, a car full of teens sped by. They screeched to a halt and  shouted, “What kind of dog is that?” Lois said “it’s a sheep.”  They said, “No way, no how,”and peeled off.  Coming again around the block they started to argue with her about whether it was a dog or not.                            

                                                                  Lois with Lamb & Neighbors --->

5. Sometimes Lois would host tea gatherings on her back patio.  Right there among her salvaged pieces waiting to be refurbished we’d enjoy a few minutes of peace.  One day we were there talking with our neighbor Marian Lazor from across the alley.  Amazingly, after two years of acquaintance, we finally realized we had attended North High School together.  We laughed and laughed.

6. After Jim died in 2002 our family started to take Caribbean cruise trips as a way to make Christmas better.  In 2004 we had an extra ticket because my grandson couldn’t come.  We asked Lois to fill in. We weren’t sure how she would act in the lap of luxury.  We expected her to confront tourists about their ignorance about world hunger.  She did some of that but mostly we had fun together.  She loved to eat the wonderful meals and every morning noon and night she enjoyed a sit down meal in a fancy restaurant.  It was surprising and rewarding to us to see her enjoying the food so much. 

There are so many stories because Lois has become an integral part of our family. She helped us become the people we are—and we are grateful.  Lois was a complicated and wonderful soul.  I’ll miss her more than I can say.

Submitted by Beth (Vick) Johnson...

      My family moved next to Lois in 1979.  I was 9 years old and full of curiosity about the world.  My siblings and I would often go visit Lois and her housemates and as my mom said, she helped to parent all of us up to the day she died, whether we saw her often or not.  She never had official children, but most of us can say she felt like another mother to us!  

      Her influence on my choices in life continues when I shop for clothes at garage sales or at Ragstock.  I no longer throw out food because it is past date.   I try to reuse or repurpose many things.  She was a teacher, both in profession and in her philosophy of life, always sharing ideas and stories.  It was at her house I saw my first "Make bread not bombs" poster.  I didn't understand so she explained how so much money is spent on war and not food for the hungry.  She told us about the wars and struggles of people all over the world, but even better, she helped those who wanted to leave persecution by finding them places to live, including her own home.

     We also learned from those who lived with Lois in the 1980's while we were kids.  Patty-who tolerated our thousands of questions about New York-, Rachel-questions about college life-, Bill-piano-, other housemates, and many of the refugees she took in.  Lois once told me she was surprised when I left for college in Duluth and never moved back.  She said she thought for sure I would come back to Minneapolis when I graduated.   But that sense of adventure must have rubbed off because up north I remain.

     I will miss her warmth and kindness, as well as her conviction and dedication to the many causes she supported.  I have often wondered how she had the energy, patience, and endurance to continue on what is obviously difficult work.  But I am sure where ever her spirit is, she continues to keep up the struggle.

Submitted by Douglas Vick...

“If its yellow, let it mellow.  if its brown flush it down!”

I miss you Lois.  I always smile when I think of you.

Submitted by Meredith Sommers...

Oh, Lois, how many stories I could tell about you! Here are a couple of Travel Adventures with Lois.

Like the trip to Toledo with dear Mary Swenson for a Social Studies conference. We made a deal that Mary and I needed to get to Toledo at a specific time, so we had to drive on those awful, fast-speed freeways…but, if you would stop pestering about wanting to stop at every interesting roadside attraction, we would return on the “byways.” We didn’t realize byways meant dirt roads through Amish country in Indiana, ending in driveways to a farmer’s home. We had a great conversation with a young boy there. It only took three days to get home from that wonderful trip.

And then, the trip from Mazatlán, where you, Jay and I were living in a little boarding house. Lois, you and I took the bus, second class, of course, or was it third, to Culiacán, the drug cartel center of Sinaloa, Mexico. You had a contact with an agronomist there who would “show us around.” We found the office of the agronomist, who was there with a couple of other rather prestigious men. They wondered who we were and why we wanted to explore the area. They asked us to introduce ourselves…in Spanish. You began, “Me llamo Lois Swenson. Soy un feliz pollo.” (in translation, this means, “my name is Lois. I am a happy chicken”). The men stared at us. My Spanish isn’t fluent, but I was able to notice the mistake, so I said, “You have just told the men that you are a happy chicken. Do you have anything to add?” And, Lois, your lovely sense of humor and great laugh broke the ice.

I don’t know what the men thought about us from then on, but the agronomist did take us around to see the sprawling fields of peppers and the working/living conditions of the men, women and children. When it was time to return to Mazatlán, you thought we could catch a cheaper bus. Yes, it was cheaper, but it stopped in every town, and when we reached the outskirts of Mazatlán, the bus stopped by the side of the highway to let us off. It wasn’t registered to go into town to the bus terminal. By now it was around 10:00 pm. Luckily, we found a cab and got back to the boarding house. Our cheap return trip cost at least twice as much as the first trip. By the time we got back, Jay had given up on us and gone to bed.

There were so many more times, Lois, and each was an event. Being with you kept me alert to my impact upon this precious earth. I could never be complacent with you around, or in my memory. But more than anything, you exuded love, and we are all better persons because you have touched our lives.

Submitted by Barbara Kaminski...

Here are responses I received from my 3 kids when I told them the sad news.  They grew up with Lois, as she was my friend before I got married.  I taught school with her at Northport, Robbinsdale.  They loved her and loved the influence she had on their life.  They are in their 40"s now and appreciate more and more what she tried to teach them when they were kids.  She was so ahead of her time and they realize that so much more now as they try to live what she taught.

Daughter Michelle - "I think about all her lessons. How else would I have known where Nicaragua, El Salvador and Ghana were? What a Sandanista was? Why I shouldn't eat Nestlé?  Why three squares of toilet paper should suffice for most jobs (?!). When recycling, growing vegetables in the city, etc I always think of her. The last thing I recall was her telling me to get some chickens for my yard."

Son Greg - "I remember Lois asking me what I was protesting when I was in college insteal of what my degree was or what I was up to in school.   I think of her anytime I wash out a plastic bag or throw something away.   She's one of the best people I know."

Daughter Suzanne - "I think of Lois all the time - anytime I do anything remotely green or granola-y or when at a restaurant when I see people busing tables. What a woman...so amazing! "

Submitted by Sue Pulvermacher-Alt...

Life with Lois  at Eleven (and Beyond)   In 1970 I was 11 and having Lois come home was always an adventure. She came from the big city and she spent time on the farm. I know her dad Ken welcomed her coming and as I got older I realized he probably also dreaded her coming. With Lois came change and action. And I suspect sometimes the change wasn’t welcomed. The house that Ken lived in--a rustic abode to say the least--constantly needed new wallpaper or new paint or new carpet in Lois’ eyes. None of those superficial changes really mattered to Ken. But arguing with Lois was a losing battle so I think in most cases he just relented from the get-go and got out of the way. 

I didn’t get out of the way; I got into the fray.  I got to go along to choose the wallpaper or buy the supplies or move the furniture or lift the brush. When Lois was around I was ready for whatever adventure she had in store. I was never disappointed.

We would paint the walls again and again (old drywall and old boards took at least 2 if not 3 coats to show a new color). Then we’d step back and admire our work. Sometimes we needed expert involvement (my mom was a favorite to be called up to help with wallpapering). And sometimes the job only got partially done before Lois had to leave. She could rest assured the job would be waiting for her next time she was home. I came to realize “home” for Lois was Minneapolis but for me as a child, home for Lois was next door, where I was only a short walk away from a day’s adventure.

That was Lois in the matching-shoes-and-purse phase of her life. As she grew older and saw more of the world where people didn’t have shoes, matching colors mattered less.  Fresh paint and wallpaper mattered less too. I wasn’t around to see the evolving impact on each of her trips to the farmhouse because I was busy with high school then off to college and young adult life and doing my own thing.  When I got married and my husband got to know Lois he was incredulous that there was ever “another Lois” who not only cared about paint and wallpaper colors and shoe and purse coordination but insisted others care too. 

Eventually I had my own children and I desperately wanted my own children to get to know Lois. I knew it would be hard since she was rarely around Arena and when she was there we often weren’t. So we saw her when we could. 

I knew the past and I knew how Lois’s perspective had evolved and changed dramatically over the years but my kids couldn’t have known that. So there was a particular poignancy when we were at the farmhouse (by then "the cottage") one time when Lois was home and I took my daughter into the house to use the bathroom. Maggie was 5 and a bit of a clean freak. She was also (and is still) an astute observer of houses and décor and the beauty of things. She looked around the house and after she used the toilet (which I wasn’t sure she was going to be able to do) she asked me in a rather appalled and somewhat exasperated voice: “why is the house such a mess; didn’t she know she was going to have company?”

I laughed and hugged my daughter. Today I thank God that there were enough interactions with Lois that both of my kids indeed got to know her and she got to know them. In fact they got to know Lois well enough that they accepted her appreciation of rusticity. They got to know her well enough that they felt guilty if they drank Nestle or wore Nikes. She made the impact only Lois could make. Thankfully Lois got to know my kids too and see them as products of me and my husband who were trying to do right by the world.  Lois and my children are different people who understood the value of a different perspective.

Last year we were visiting the Twin Cities and went as a family to visit Lois after her battle with cancer. As adults my son and daughter could fully appreciate the person that is Lois. I left reminded of the Lois of my childhood and the Lois of my adulthood. Each were magnificent human beings in very different ways and each taught me so much. My sense of loss is profound.

Submitted by Bill Cooley...

I lived at Lois' from 90 to 92 and again from 94 to 97. 

One time during the winter I was home.  Lois was walking home from the Super Value because she was dumpster diving and found her car had a flat tire.  The stuff she had dived for was in the car including a huge jar of mayonnaise in the glove box.  It was too big to close the glove box door and you know Lois never locked any of her cars.  So we drove over there to change the tire and found that someone had stolen the jar of mayonnaise she had just pulled out of the dumpster.  

There is a similar but not so entertaining story once arriving home with a shopping bag full of dumpster vegetables we heard a scream and went outside to check.  Someone had snatched the bag and run.  At first she just laughed but then figured that he should not get away with this so she screamed.  We went went inside and she called the police. A police officer came over and asked what was in it.  Lois was careful to enumerate how many zucchini and whatever else was in it.  At one point the officer asked how old she was and she said "I don't know I was born 11-27-35" and that was when we figured out we had the same birthday.  Needless to say the officer was not interested in the number of zucchini or the coincidence.  

Some folks regarded her as an ascetic but I never thought that.  She lived the way she most wanted to live and got great joy from it including lugging the laundry water upstairs so that she could use the same water to do the next load.

Submitted by Rev John Guttermann, Covenant Minister, United Church of Christ in New Brighton...

"She would always ask me if I'd seen Amy Goodman or been watching Democracy Now." 

Submitted by Pat Eliason...

I met Lois in 1986 when my husband-to-be, Tesfaye, had just moved into his own apt after rooming at Lois’ house for several months.  Lois was very involved with the Oromo nationals at that time and attended meetings as a “friend of the Oromos.”  She had traveled to Oromia by that time and had a very clear understanding of the oppression the Oromos faced.  She also wanted to make sure that Oromos living in the U.S. did not become too materialistic.  She constantly reminded them that they could walk or bus rather than take a car, they could use Goodwill rather than buy new clothes, they could garden, etc.  She is the reason I had city chickens way before it became a popular thing to do.

One time shortly after I met Lois she decided that some Oromos should see an Indian reservation.  We traveled to White Earth for a pow-wow and camped there.  But Lois was distressed that they were using disposable forks and spoons; she went around to the trash cans and collected used tableware to take home and wash up for reuse.

There was no one else like Lois.  One of my relatives said, when she heard the news of Lois’ death, “The world has lost a great warrior.”  Lois might not like the fighting imagery, but she did battle for peace; she did that every moment of her life.  She was a role model like no other, and a kind and dear friend.

Tribute to Lois Swenson, advocate for justice

By Pastor Kelly Chatman, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Minneapolis

We mourn the loss of Lois Swenson who was known for her tireless dedication to justice, love church and community. In recent years Lois overcame a struggle with cancer and was tragically found dead in her home on June 13. Shock reverberated throughout the community as well as the many friendships Lois nurtured throughout her years. Lois was a woman of tremendous faith and she was known as a teacher, gardener, peace, food and justice activist. She could be seen in the early morning hours working in her garden, turning old shoes into flower pots, and teaching young adults how to “dumpster dive.” Lois was an unabashed advocate for justice; she welcomed refugees and immigrants, and fought tirelessly for the end to war. 

Lois began her life on a farm in Wisconsin, obtained her college degree at Luther College and began her career as a teacher in the Robinsdale School District. During her teaching career Lois went on a sabbatical and studied overseas. This initial travel experience became just one of her many visits to Africa, Central and South America. Lois fought for the rights of people and her commitment for justice transcended the boundaries of race, class, culture and geography.               

When Lois was back home in Minneapolis, she was frequently in the community among peace activists. St. Martin’s Table, Mothers against Military Madness, and Minneapolis Area Synod Justice Committee were just a few of the many places Lois advocated for peace and justice. We would often find Lois working in a community garden, carrying war protest signs and showing up for worship in any number of congregations. Most often when Lois came to Sunday worship she had someone with her that she thought would be a good fit with a particular congregation. While many of Lois’ friends may have given up on the church or lost hope for the institution, Lois remained tireless and faithful. She never gave up. She was a worker. She believed in change, even in the church. 

Receiving the news of Lois’ death was devastating to the community.  Approximately 200 people attended an impromptu vigil. During the vigil, people prayed, laughed, cried and celebrated a life that was well lived. Included in the celebration of Lois’ life was a young girl who offered a beautiful song, college classmates sharing stories of joy, and reflections of Lois’ irreverence for convention. One man shared that Lois was central to the resettlement of the Oromo people. A man from Iran told the story about how in the nineties, when he was on his way to Calvary Lutheran where he was scheduled to be the featured speaker, the police pulled him over for a tail light infraction and had him spread eagle along the highway. Police were frisking him when Lois stopped her car and confronted the officer. The policeman threatened to take Lois to jail for interfering. Lois then followed the police car to the station, signed for the man’s release and escorted him to Calvary for his presentation. 

Lois also had a deep passion for young people. She worked with young leaders and funded a leadership venture to Mexico City where young leaders learned about hunger and international justice. Lois worked closely with young people in the neighborhood, congregations and globally. A constant memory of Lois will always be at 76 years, still fighting, loving and empowering us all to faithfully confront injustice and violence in all its forms.

Submitted by Rachel Hefte...

  Click Here:  Compassionate Rebel

Submitted by Patty Guerrero..."WHAT WOULD LOIS DO?"

- As published in the WAMM (Women Against Military Madness) Newsletter

I can’t express the sadness that I and so many others feel over the death by violence of our dear, dear friend, Lois Swenson.

Lois spent a major part of her life trying to save our fragile planet by not consuming goods that weren’t absolutely necessary and also befriending whomever needed help.

I became a friend of Lois’s through WAMM.  I was privileged, as were many others, to travel to Mexico with her several times.   We didn’t go to spend time on the beaches (although I spent my share of time on them), or to stay in fancy hotels, (although i would sneak into their pools).  Lois always had a mission---to help build libraries in poor pueblos or to try and convince North American tourists to go back home and conserve, conserve, conserve and to educate others about the disastrous effects that NAFTA was having on Mexico.  Her mantra was Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.  And, “ Live Simply So Others Can Simply Live.”

She learned these things through her travels to third world countries, but I would guess that she also learned them from her parents.  (“Parents, Teach your children well.”  Crosby, Stills and Nash)

She never bought the “stuff” to take home like I did.  I remember once while in Mazatlan that I said I wouldn’t buy anything except small items like earrings.  When we were ready to leave, I had so much stuff that it was she who had to help me carry my bags across the border.  We both had a big laugh.  But, true to her word, no one wanted any of the things after I got home.  Another time, here in St Paul, we were in a coffee shop and I took a napkin when I bought coffee and bagel and she said, “Now, Patty, why do you need that napkin?”  I couldn’t believe it and said,  “Lois, i need it.”  But, again, when we finished, i hadn’t touched my napkin.  She was always right in these matters---often irritatingly so.  But, she knew we appreciated her “saving the world.”

Next time when you think you “need” something, or are letting the water run while brushing your teeth,  just think “WWLD”, What Would Lois Do?  In that way we will be remembering her and we will be doing our part.  I will miss her forever.  She was my rock, my foundation. 

I end this with what the woman from the Minneapolis Star/Tribune who wrote the article on Lois said to me when I wrote and thanked her for her article.

“I only got to know Lois from the few people we interviewed.  But I’m left feeling she was one helluva woman who made a hugh difference in the lives of many people.”

Submitted by Barb Vallecillo…

I met Lois when she was ready to “emancipate" (rather than retire) from her teaching career in '86/'87.  

She believed in living simply and sustainably, and incorporated dumpster diving as a lifestyle. And I mean lifestyle! Eating breakfast or lunch at her home was quite the adventure. She'd pull out food retrieved from co-op dumpsters in the morning and serve it as the catch of the day to whoever stopped by to visit. At the time, I was sickened by the whole idea of looking at dumpster food, let alone cook it.  I loved my friend, yet admit feigning being full more than once when Lois invited me over. Lois had a way of using the experience of the food we were eating as an opportunity to educate on farming issues, sustainability concerns, and global connections.

Her kitchen table was like a mini seminar cafe for whoever wanted to attend.  I soaked in her love and company yet never realized the lessons I was being modeled would at some point take hold (much to my family's chagrin!).  

Over the years Lois became one of my dearest friends as well as my dumpster dive mentor.  We've spent countless hours "diving" together in the Twin Cities as well as Madison, WI, and travelling in Mexico too.   While her "work" was in the Twin Cities, her heart always remained on the farm with her friends and family in Arena, WI. She always felt torn between the two places, and the more I came to know and love these Arena folks over the years, the more I understood her dilemma.

Today Lois - consummate teacher, advocate, sister, aunt, friend - is freed up to be with all of us 24/7, no matter the geography. May her love for us and this beautiful planet sustain us for a lifetime.

Submitted by Nancy Maxwell...

My entire life, Lois Swenson has been a family friend and neighbor. In fact the friendship and being neighbors is multi-generational.  My Grandfather and Lois’s dad were neighbors and friends. 

As a child, I was quite often at the Swenson household in particular when Lois was home in Arena for her summer break from teaching.  It didn’t take long for my brother and I to head up the hill to the Swenson’s because the word was out that “Lois was home”.   She would, for example tell my brother and me that “we weren’t old enough to pick the currents, or work in the garden, or feed the chickens, and the list went on and on.  What a brilliant and cunning strategy to tell a child they weren’t old enough.  You can rest assured that we begged to prove to her that we were “truly old enough” to do all of those things and she graciously allowed us to continually prove that we were.  As our two younger sisters reached the same stage in their childhood they too made the journey up the hill to the Swenson’s to spend time with Lois.

When I  married Keith and we built our house next to my parents it was a wonderful opportunity when our sons were born to extend the trips up the hill to the Swenson’s to the next generation.  For the boys when word was out that “Lois was home” they in turn headed up the hill and had some wonderful “Lois experiences”.    Many times she would stop by and away they would go for a fun filled, thrilling day with Lois.

However, the photos (posted on the "Pictures from Friends" page) and story I share with all of you are from a trip to Mexico in the mid-1980s with Lois as our tour guide and her friend Barb as the Spanish interpreter.  There were 14 in our “tour” group.  Nine of us including Lois were from the “Arena neighborhood hill”.  As you can easily see in the picture of the eight of us at the airport we certainly looked like renowned “world travelers”.  The four kids were all in their early teen’s and the adult’s traveling experience didn’t extend much further than Madison, WI which was forty miles to the west of Arena.    But for Lois this was an opportunity for all of us to widen our horizon and experience life in another culture.  She wasn’t at all nervous about taking this motley crew to Mexico for almost two weeks.  For all of you that know Lois quite well; it was a working vacation at times, a learning experience always and truly an adventure of a life time.  We stayed in a hostel in Mexico City, Lois flagged down multiple cabs in the city and we all always ended up at the assigned destination.  Barb was the Spanish voice for all of us.  We stayed with friends of Lois’s that owned a beautiful villa in the country and in turn also visited very poor families in humble abodes.  But at the end of each day we gathered with Lois “our teacher” to talk about our experience.   Lois would ask each of us to explain what we saw and how we felt.  Lois, taught by example and showered her love and compassion for the diversity of life to each and every one of us.  THANK YOU LOIS. Those of us that experienced this trip will always cherish the memory. 

Lois, you will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Experience relayed by Nancy Maxwell, Lois’s family friend and Arena neighbor. 

Submitted by Roberta Aitchison Olson...

When I travelled to Sudan in 1985 Lois came for her second visit to see the severe condition of Oromo refugees in Yabus, in southerneastern Sudan. We discovered that the refugee assistance agencies were not providing assistance in Yabus because they had not assessed the needs there, and they had not assessed the needs because it was too hard to get there. This, we learned, after we returned from from our six weeks there and a three day trek back to Khartoum. We looked at each other and laughed. We had spent several afternoons sitting on top of wood piled up 4' high in the back of a a lorry (truck that is like a semi), sleeping along the side of the road, and visiting--without many words--to local Sudanese and Oromos. Lois did make friends everywhere she went. It was an experience of a lifetime. Lois later went to talk to people at the aid agencies in Europe, New York, and Washington D.C., her report in hand, and urged them to acknowledge the plight of these Oromo refugees, which some of them did.

While we were in Yabus, a new school was opened in Yabus. The people who would teach there had not not all finished high school, but were enthusiastic to teach children in their own language. As an educator, Lois was asked to train the teachers to teach. Somehow--I have no idea how--she was able to prepare these few teachers, without speaking their language. Simply amazing! Needless to say, the two dozen or so children loved Lois, and came to sit in her lap and practice flash cards. Lois didn't ever stop teaching.