Lois Jayne Eckert

Lois Jayne Eckert
June 21, 1922 - September 3, 2018

Lois Jayne (Rohde) Eckert, age 96, passed away on Labor Day, September 3, 2018. She grew up in Akron and had many friends who were also Akron socialites. In their teenage years, they spent time in downtown Akron, listening to music at a booth at O'Neil's, and as young married ladies, attending luncheons at The Akron Woman's City Club on W. Exchange Street. The gals would get together to play Bridge. In her college years, Lois was invited into the Zeta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta in 1943.
The kitchen at home remained in order; it was much more enjoyable to eat out! With her mother and father, dinner and cocktail hours were observed at The Liedertafel. Dining was a serious affair. For a long time, a Chardonnay at Larry's or a macaroni and cheese at Applebee's was always welcome, as long as the dinner hour did not begin until 6 o'clock or later. If there was something to celebrate at an earlier hour, it was with a chocolate-malted milk shake from Swenson's, a favorite haunt from schooldays.
Lois was a longtime member of the Fairlawn Country Club. She liked to spend long hours at table with her trademark martini with olives stuffed with blue cheese, and dirty ice. She enjoyed listening to Max play the piano during the meal, and later as a resident at Brookdale, she heard Max when he played for the senior residents there.
Lois was born on June 21, 1922, in Akron, Ohio. Her father was Frank Rohde, and her mother Katharyn Mason "Kittie." Lois was an only child. When Lois moved back to Akron, during her senior years, she spent many wonderful hours with her cousin, Dorothy Protheroe (now deceased), and Dorothy's offspring: Patty David (John) Franich of Portland, Oregon and Bill (Diane) Protheroe, of Akron. They are thankful for the special times spent with the dear person they call their, "Aunt Lois."
Lois married her sweetheart, Eugene Vincent Eckert, in 1945. Later the couple would move to California and live in Sherman Oaks. They lived in California 40 years. Lois worked for Disney Administrative Offices, as a Kelly Services girl. Later, she was a reporter for The Daily News, working the classified phones. Her experience at the newspaper probably encouraged her habit of reading the Akron Beacon Journal every morning, when she moved back to Akron, and even doing the crossword puzzle presented there, preferably on Monday, when the puzzle was a little easier.
Lois graduated from Buchtel High School in 1940. As a young person, she lived on Storer Avenue and Dorchester Road. Her father was a business owner. He owned The Superior Baking Company. Lois went to Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, and enjoyed studying poetry. She would often have the poet's ability to say things in just such a way. For example, she would refer to people living as being, "up and doing," a phrase she remembered from the Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
A stanch Republican, Lois kidded about her love of "Ronnie" Reagan, and related the story of how she met John Wayne and was able to shake the western actor's hand. She loved movies and watched her favorite movie, "Casablanca," many, many times. Her mother bet on the races and Lois reviewed the many pages of scrapbook mementos put together by her mother.
Every spring, when Lois was a little girl in Akron, her Granddaddy Mason would tell her to watch for the Robins, and when those Robins would appear, he and Grandmother would be soon to see them. They would travel up from Florida. Lois liked to talk, also, about her Uncle Frank, who was with B. F. Goodrich. He carried a box with a funnel so he could hear, and brought her a birthday present on many a birthday. He had a summer place at Brighton Farm.
In later years, she traded the martini for a cup of Lipton tea. If you were drinking coffee, she would tell everyone, "Get that money!" which meant for them to spoon the coffee foam to bring good luck and wealth to you; So dedicated to the Republican party was she, that she collected elephant figurines. Although an avid soap opera watcher, One Life to Live, as well as General Hospital, Lois really showed her sportsmanship with the Cleveland Indians. She watched many a game and cheered her local team almost to the Championship.
A celebration of Lois's life will take place 2 p.m. Saturday, October 20, at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 N. Miller Rd. Akron, OH 44333., where friends may call 1 hour prior to the service. Private inurnment will take place. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 70 W. Streetsboro St. #201, Hudson, OH 44236. She will be remembered and loved always. (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)