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Equitable's Senior of the Month < Back to Archive

Lois McCracken

February 2010

"Gone Fishing"

Although Lois McCracken would describe herself as a ‘typical homemaker’, she is quite the adventurer underneath it all. She may know her way around the house, in the kitchen and on a sewing machine – but she also has plenty of experience on the road, in the mountains and with a fishing pole. In fact, she has enough experience to survive two frigid days in the mountains until search and rescue workers could find her - so much for your ‘typical homemaker’.

Lois McCracken was born June 24th, 1928 in Baird, Nebraska as the second daughter in a family with three girls. Her parents were the oldest in their families and when her mother’s mother died of cancer, all of her younger siblings, ranging from 14 to 2, came to live with them. Needless to say it was a packed house.

Lois’ father was a farmer and made a hobby of searching for new properties to fix up and sell. His hobby moved the family all around, including Fruitland, Weiser, Plymouth and Cascade Idaho. During a dance in a neighboring community, Lois met a man in a red and black wool coat and they danced the night away. After leaving without setting up a date, she looked for the man all around town. She found the coat – but not the same man was wearing it. The new man in the red and black coat, Edward, had just gotten out of the service and they two started talking and dating. They were married three weeks later by the Justice of the Peace in the Cascade courthouse on September 7th, 1946.

The constant moving continued when Lois was married. Her husband was a construction worker and traveled with his work. Through the years the two made Montana, Oregon and Nevada home, until finally settling in with the kids outside of Boise, Idaho. While in Boise, she worked for a lady doing all her tailoring and sewing and was able to stay home and work when the kids were growing up.

Sewing and tailoring were not the only items on Lois’ list of specialties; she is also a great cook. When people come to visit Lois, they also come to eat – with her specialty being baked goods and scones with ham and beans. It’s a perfect combination because she loves the company and loves to cook.

If company comes over and Lois is not there, you can bet she is camping and fishing. Her and her husband always owned a motor home and she is proud that she put every mile on them. They would take annual trips to Yuma, Arizona, go on adventures across the US and take weekend jaunts to new fishing holes. Lois has been fishing since she was a little girl and still goes whenever she has the chance. She specializes in stream fishing and favors the area of Stanley, Idaho. She loves the outdoors and new adventures.

A couple years ago, she took a friend of hers up to fish and while looking for a new spot to drop in their bait, they got lost. The two women tried hard to get back on track, but the more they walked the more lost they became. Night fell and so did the temperatures, but the two huddled together and were able to stay safe. Forty search and rescue workers and two days later, they were found huddled together off the beaten path of the river they were following. Not Lois’ proudest day, but noteworthy – because the story was published in The Guide Post because of her great survival skills and faith that God would help the searchers find them.

Lois, your outgoing spirit and zest for life is contagious and inspiring. Thank you for being a part of the Equitable Family.

ByLine: Hailey Gee, Equitable Resolutions