LOIS M. ALQUIST, 74, of Meriden, Iowa, passed away on Friday, January 3, 2025 at Careage Hills Nursing Home in Cherokee, surrounded by her family.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cherokee, Iowa. Pastor Philip Beisswenger will officiate. Burial will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery at Cherokee, Iowa. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with the family present from 5-7:00 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. There will also be visitation from 10:00 a.m. until service time at the church on Wednesday morning. Online condolences may be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com.
Lois was born on February 22, 1950 in Hettinger, North Dakota to Orney and Florence (Kirkewold) Hemmah of Bowman, North Dakota.
The family moved to Rochester, Minnesota in 1957. Lois graduated high school in 1968 from Mayo High School. She attended Southwest Minnesota State, in Marshall, MN and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Following graduation she worked for Crenlo Manufacturing in Rochester.
Lois met Dennis Alquist in 1976. They were married on August 6, 1977 at Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester. They made their home north of Meriden on the farm. Despite living in Iowa, she was an avid Minnesota Vikings fan.
Lois worked as the librarian for the M-C Library, as both the school librarian and city librarian until her retirement in 2016. Lois’s passions included cooking, raising flowers, and gardening. Dennis and Lois also enjoyed camping. She coached t-ball and softball when the kids were younger. She was a 4-H leader of the Liberty Bells, and always enjoyed the Cherokee County Fair. She entered many of her flowers into the family craft exhibits and also enjoyed when her grandkids entered her flowers there too. Dennis and Lois were inducted into the Cherokee County 4-H Hall of Fame.
Family was very important to Lois and she enjoyed trips back to her hometown. Lois enjoyed watching her kids and grandkids in their various activities.
She was preceded in death by parents, Orney and Florence Hemmah, parents-in-law, Leo and Pearl Alquist, one brother, Burnell Hemmah, and brother and sister in law, Leo Jr., and Linda Alquist.
Lois will be lovingly remembered by her devoted husband Dennis of rural Meriden; daughter, Denise (Scott) Pettey of Rochester, MN; son, Derrick (Christy) Alquist of rural Meriden and their children, Tyler Alquist and Lindsey Alquist; brother, Otto (Ann Marie) Hemmah of Byron, MN; sister, Sylvia (Greg) Michalak of Rochester, MN; nieces, Julie Perrotti of Byron, MN, Karen (Mike) Young of Mankato, MN, Amber (John) Gilbertson of Wabasha, MN, Julie (Mark) Berg of Lino Lakes, MN and Desi Hicks of Mountain Home, AR; nephews, Paul Hemmah of Byron, MN, Bradley Hemmah of Byron, MN, Michael Michalak of Rochester, MN, and Jerry Alquist (special friend Lisa Claus) of Lennox, SD.
