Lois Mary Parker It is overwhelming to see so many people come and pay tribute to Lois. It is a true testament to the number of lives Lois touched, including mine. I first met Lois in 1991 when I was 31 and Lois was 38 years old. That seems like a lifetime ago and in many ways it was. I had just landed my first real job working in Claims Prep for the Unemployment Insurance Commission. Lois was a seasoned employee of The Commission with 8 years of service under her belt. She was an Agent 1 and as memory serves she was the best Agent 1 on the floor. Before we developed our friendship my early impressions of Lois were that she scared me a bit. Lois had a tough exterior and that toughness could be rather intimidating, especially to a shy new employee like me. As I said though, this toughness was only on the exterior because, as most of you know, Lois had a heart of gold that was full of kindness, love and caring. She cared about her work and her clients; she cared about her friends and most of all she cared about her family. Once Lois and I got passed our external business fronts we developed a friendship that would quickly become one of the most important friendships of my life. In order to become part of Lois’ life, as some of you will know, you have to pass a few tests and the test that carried the most weight was the Teri-Lynne test. If you couldn’t gain the trust of Teri-Lynne then you might as well just walk away because Lois and Teri-Lynne were a package deal and there was no wiggle room on that. Lucky for me I had already formed a friendship with Teri-Lynne since we both worked in Claims Prep. I was in like flint! Now that I’ve mentioned the Lois Teri-Lynne connection perhaps I should elaborate on that relationship. Lois had Teri-Lynne when she was very young and she was a single mother. Back in the 70’s being a single mom was a tough row to hoe but that didn’t matter to Lois one bit. She adored Teri-Lynne and she would have walked over hot coals to help her daughter have a good life. She wanted Teri-Lynne to be healthy, successful and most of all have a life full of happiness and joy. They shared a strong bond as mother and daughter and also a deep, heartfelt friendship. If one was happy, the other was happy; if one was going through hard times then they both were going through hard times. I saw this incredible bond in action many times throughout my friendship with Lois but at no time was it stronger than it has been this last tumultuous and painful year of Lois’ life. Teri-Lynne, you can be sure that even death cannot sever this bond; your mother will always be looking out for you, cheering you on toward success and happiness. I’d like to speak a bit about Lois’ journey through life. Lois was born to George and Mary Parker on 26 May 1953 in Peterborough Ontario. George and Mary also had a second daughter Georgina in 1960. When Lois was young she was a majorette with The Sonja Albalbieco School of Dance and she was a pretty good majorette I might add. In fact, Lois was a baton twirling champion! Lois demonstrated her baton twirling skills to me one evening when we were having some fun and I must admit I was rather envious because I always liked baton twirling, although I wasn’t very good at it. Lois also liked going to the stock car race track with her father George who raced stock cars and she liked hanging out with him in the garage when he worked on his car. Lois still has the race car helmet, #76, which George gave her when she was young. That was his helmet! This love of cars and driving stayed with Lois throughout her life. Lois couldn’t stand the thought of not having a car of her own. Once Lois became a teenage, Peterborough became too small for her so she packed up her bags and went off to live in the Big Smoke. This is where she met Teri-Lynne’s father. I’m sure at the time it was the worst thing that could have happened to her, being so young, unmarried and pregnant. Years later, I can safely say that having Teri-Lynne was the single most important event of Lois’ life, followed closely by the births of her cherished grandsons Jonathan and Michael. Lois spent a bit of time in Toronto and then she moved to London and from there to Hamilton and back to Toronto before finally ending up in Kitchener in 1983. When Lois lived in Hamilton she took a Real Estate course and worked as a Real Estate Representative for a while which lead to her lifelong love of homes and home décor. A skill Lois demonstrated in each place that she lived. Then in 1983 Lois began her 30 year career as an employee of the Federal Government. As you know this is where Lois worked until a few short months ago. Lois loved to travel, a hobby that she didn’t get to do enough of, and Lois loved to have fun. Lois was happiest when she was preparing to entertain and surrounded by people she loved. She loved music and dancing, photography and puzzle games, summertime and swimming pool, she loved to see a sharp dressed man and she loved just about anything that was red, but more than anything she loved her family. She adored Teri-Lynne and her grandsons Jonathan and Michael. She loved Teri-Lynne’s partner Rob, who she always called Strawbert. She loved and admired her sister Georgina and Georgina’s husband John. She loved her niece Stevie-Lee and her nephew Kevin. She was heartbroken when her father George got sick and passed away in October 2004. She loved her mother Mary and spoke with me often about wishing she could do more to help make Mary’s life easier after George died. She loved me too, an honour and privilege I value greatly because Lois was an incredible woman who left an indelible mark on my heart. In closing I would like to share a tidbit about Lois that some of you will recognize and others will not. About 10 years ago when Lois first started living on her own, and by that I mean without a man in her life, she started referring to herself as The Queen. She had great fun with this handle as evidenced by her voice mail greeting and the many Queen themed décor items that started appearing throughout her apartment. We all had fun with this handle and quickly became her loyal subjects. So my final words today will be to say that The Queen is either holding court or on the throne so please leave a message…