Lois Huckfeldt

Lois was born in Denver, Colorado in 1942, the 3^rd child of 6 to Clarence “Casey” & Wilma “Billie” Dryer.  The oldest girl in a large family, she was a caregiver from an early age for her younger siblings and Grandmother.  She is survived by her loving husband, Carl, and her 5 children: Richard Dean, Robert, John, Peggy & David.  She is also survived by her sister, Mary Parker and her brother, Joseph Dryer, as well as grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Lois met Carl when she was 17 while working at the local drive-in movie theater.  He had recently finished his tour of duty in the Air Force and had settled in Colorado.  Their romance ignited quickly and within a year they were married and had their first child, Richard Dean.  Four more children would follow over the next 11 years.  Carl worked as a truck driver while Lois made a home & cared for the children.  In addition to keeping a home, she worked to help bring income to the family. She held multiple jobs during her working years, providing an in-home day care, house cleaner, plastics production company, Yellow Front retail, Target, doctors office, Tel-electronics, and a fireplace supply company, doing general bookkeeping and office management work.

She loved cooking for the family & hosting gatherings.  She could feed an army and usually did, often looking up from the supper table to find kids, not her own, but she fed them just the same.  Even with 5 kids at home, she would take in every stray animal someone brought to her with little protest.  She was a pet lover and shared her home with Lady, Middie, Willie, and countless others, including her darling Cupcake who she leaves in Carl’s loving care.

She and Carl began their marriage in the southern part of Denver, before moving to Brighton in the mid 80’s.  She and Carl raised their kids with a healthy mix of love and discipline.  She would often beam with pride saying, “I raised all my kids to be excellent mothers… even my boys”.  She was a fiercely protective Mama Bear when anyone accused “The Huckfeldt Kids” of wrongdoing.  But she was an equally fierce disciplinarian if she found out the accusations were true.  She was quick with a hug or a swat on the behind, whichever the situation called for.  Her children and grandchildren were her biggest source of pride.  Her 5 kids gave her 13 grandkids and 21 great grandkids so far with 3 more on the way.  She was a loving and caring mother, counselor, and best friend. She loved them all and kept tabs on everyone, whether they knew it or not. Her memory and recall were fantastic.  Even when the rest of us had problems remembering names and dates, she could do so with ease. She was the connecting thread of the family keeping all informed of each other’s business.

Despite having 5 kids in a 3 bedroom home, she was a stickler for keeping everything and everyone clean and presentable.   She loved to rearrange furniture and decorate. She had an eye for design and loved to express her creativity through painting, sewing and crafts.

When the kids were little, they would often camp in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.  No electrical or water hook ups, just nature in all its glory.  They would load the family into the van & small Pop-Up camper.  The kids would sleep under the stars in sleeping bags, while she and Carl slept inside. Family lore tells of one such camping trip when a “big cat” was heard curiously sniffing and walking around the kids as they slept soundly under the fold-out bed of the camper. She and Carl quietly listened to the footsteps and heavy breaths of the animal with a gun cocked and ready if the animal’s curiosity should turn harmful.  The cat moved on and the kids slept unknowing.  She would proudly boast that they “raised sound sleepers and tough kids.” 

Lois’s luck is legendary.  She loved “going up the hill” to Blackhawk with Carl.  Her favorite was the penny slots and on more than one occasion she would find a penny and stick it in a nearby slot and win big.  Lucky Lady!

In 1995, after all the kids were out of the house, they retired to Pine Bluff, Wyoming where they’ve lived for 27 years in a small, picturesque town nestled against the big bluff overlooking the expansive prairie.

There are very few stories of Lois which don’t include Carl. They’ve been a match set for 62 years, much to the dismay of some, who thought they rushed into marriage too young.  At a recent family wedding the DJ invited all married couples to the dance floor and quickly excused them in order, starting with the most recently married.  Carl and Lois were the last remaining dancers beaming at each other as the onlookers, most of whom were their decedents, cheered them on.

Though she is gone, she is in each of us as living legacies of a life well lived.

Lois will be interred at Ft. Logan National Cemetery.  Services will be scheduled at a later date.  Condolences can be sent to:

Carl Huckfeldt

PO Box 105

Pine Bluff, WY 82082