Lois Tierney, 81
Lois Tierney age 81 of New Hampton, IA died Thursday, June 23, 2022 at Linn Haven Rehab and Healthcare in New Hampton, IA surrounded by her family.
Funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in New Hampton, IA with Rev. Peter Faugstad presiding. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery in New Hampton.
If you are unable to attend Lois' Mass of Christian Burial please join the family via live stream on the Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home obituary page for Lois.
Friends may greet the family from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service on Wednesday at the church. Online condolences for the Tierney family may be left at hugebackfuneralhome.com
641-394-4334.
Lois was born on April 22, 1941, to Henry and Viola (Vaala) Robinson in New Hampton, and a lifetime of faith began when she was baptized at Jerico Lutheran Church, where she was also later confirmed.
Lois grew up with her older brother Veryl and younger sister Fern on a farm near Jerico and attended country school before completing her education at New Hampton High School, where she was a member of the Class of 1959. As a child, she loved the family vacations that the Robinsons took to Clear Lake each year.
After graduation, she moved to Waterloo, where she worked first at Bishop’s Cafe and then at Allen Hospital.
Lois met Joseph “Arnie” Tierney when he was picking up milk from her parents’ home, and the two met up again at a dance and the rest is history. They began dating, fell in love and were married on June 3, 1961, at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
The couple settled in New Hampton, and their family grew to include Barb, Brian “Butch”, Brenda and Brad, who had a mother who loved them with all of her heart. Oh, Lois could be stubborn and she could be set in her ways — Monday was always “roast night, for example, and when she told you to clean your room, you cleaned it. The Tierney children knew their mom was always there for them.
Lois loved her holidays and enjoyed decorating her home during them. She had a sweet tooth and loved her cookies, pies and ice cream. She and Arnie in their younger days loved to go out dancing, and their home on West Spring Street — where she cooked and he grilled — was the “hub of the neighborhood.”
She was also very close to her sister, and Lois and Fern enjoyed many wonderful Saturdays taking day trips and going out to eat. In her later years, she loved her “girls weekends” in Minneapolis and Rochester.
For many years, Lois ran a daycare in her home, and she touched the lives of scores of children over the years. She was, as one of her former daycare kids put it, “The sweetest babysitter a little one could have had.”
Lois had a strong faith and was an active member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, serving with the Ladies Aid and spending countless hours in the kitchen for church events and funerals.
She adored her eight grandchildren and her five great-grandchildren. It was always a good day for Lois when her grandchildren were in her home talking with her and her husband.
Her husband passed away in May 2021, just weeks before the couple’s 60th anniversary, and as sad as her death is for those that knew and loved her, they know that today she is reunited with Arnie and dancing in a better place.
Lois is survived by two sons, Brian “Butch” (Shelly) Tierney of New Hampton, IA, Brad Tierney of Frederika, IA; two daughters, Barb (John) Kuhn of New Hampton, IA, Brenda Leach of New Hampton, IA; seven grandchildren, Michelle Kuhn of New Hampton, IA, Bruce (Kayleen) Tierney of Aplington, IA, Amanda (Dave) Broz of Plymouth, MN, Ryan (Brittany) Leach of Waukee, IA, Matthew Kuhn of New Hampton, IA, Ashley (Blaine) Feltz of New Hampton, IA, and Erin Tierney of Frederika, IA; five great-grandchildren; one brother-in-law, Eldon Heideman of New Hampton; brothers in law, Tom (Judy) Tierney, and Jim (Georgia) Tierney; sisters in law, Betty (Gerald) Gleason and Janet Franzen; many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Arnie, on May 15, 2021; her sister, Fern Heideman, three brothers, Veryl Robinson and two in infancy; a son-in-law, Jeff Leach; and one grandson, Justin Tierney.
