Lois Maddox McHugh, age 93, passed away on May 14, 2022, at the Inn at the Fountains, in Tucson, Arizona.  Lois is survived by her children, Brian (Peggy) of Jacksonville FL, Kay Donohoe of Tucson, Margaret (Manuel) Tarrazo of San Francisco CA, and Eileen (Dale) Haag of Arlington TX, seven grandchildren, Kerry McHugh, Patrick and Marty Donohoe, Diana and Roland Tarrazo, and Breana and Morgan Haag.

 Lois was born June 30, 1928 in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of William Notley Maddox and Lois Hughes Maddox.  She was the middle child with two siblings, Ann Gibbons and William Maddox Jr., both deceased.    Lois and her family moved to Stratford, Connecticut when she was in high school and lived there until college.  

She met her husband James Dennis McHugh from Glen Lyon Pennsylvania (deceased 2007) while they were both attending the University of Rochester.  They married in Utica, NY in 1950, and were married for almost 57 years.  Lois’s first job after college was as assistant to the Dean of the Women’s College of Cornell University, while Jim pursued his Masters in Engineering.  Jim and Lois relocated several times as their own family grew, and they lived in Pittsburgh, Wilmington, Syracuse, and eventually to Schenectady, New York, where they lived for nearly 30 years.  Jim’s employer General Electric took the family to San Jose, California from 1968 to 1972, for a cherished adventure in the most interesting of times.   While living in San Jose, Lois pursued a Masters in Education at San Jose State University.  She went on to become an elementary school teacher in both California and New York, as they returned to Schenectady in 1972.  

Lois spent more than twenty years teaching underprivileged children in elementary schools, and particularly enjoyed helping them learn to read.  She cared immensely about her students and their developing lives.  She was a loving mother, and spent countless hours shuttling her kids to their various sports and music activities.  She was both a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader, and active in the AAUW.  Jim and Lois opened their home and happily hosted two foreign exchange students, Mario Haderspock from Bolivia and Victor Barraza from Mexico.  Lois and Jim were long time members of the Unitarian Church of Schenectady, where they made and maintained life-long friends.  

In 1993 Jim and Lois retired and moved to the Oro Valley area of Tucson where they made many new and dear friends and reconnected with some old friends.  Lois was an avid reader, a strong bridge player, and she was an active volunteer at the library and in the local literacy program.   Lois enjoyed fishing and exploring national parks, as well as traveling nationally and internationally with family and friends.  She loved raising her four kids and taking care of her grandchildren, and was fortunate to be able to watch them grow into adults.

No memorial services are planned.  In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to PBS or the Literacy Volunteers of America.