Lois Lamdin

Lois Harriet Symons Lewin Lamdin left this life as gently and innocently as she came into it on November 19, 2021 (b. May 17, 1927) . For most of her life, she maintained a sunny disposition and a great capacity for curiosity and joy. Lois never wanted to let go of her extremely full life, in part because she believed so firmly that "Learning Never Ends."

Lois was an avid reader, writer, traveler, and collector of friends, places visited, and Native American art. She earned her BA in English at the University of Pittsburgh. Lois married Karl Kay Lewin on April 18, 1948, and they had three children together. They divorced in 1967. Lois completed her PhD at University of Pittsburgh and got her first teaching job at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) in English Literature, where she co-wrote her first publication, The Ghetto Reader. The story goes that, on the first date between Lois and Ezra S. Lamdin, he mentioned not having to change the initials on her towels. They married in June, 1969, and had an infamous honeymoon with their combined six children (including a Jeff and a Geoff - just to confuse the waitresses at the inn in which they stayed).

Lois and Ezra moved to NYC, where Lois chaired the English department of the new campus of Hostos Community College in the South Bronx. She had a varied career, which she detailed in her (unpublished) book, An Accidental Career. Her career coalesced around adult learning (including authoring two editions of Earn College Credit for What You Know) and later Elderlearning, her final published book. Lois and Ezra moved several times, finally settling together on the Maine coast, where they spent the happiest years of their lives together: eating lobster and lobster rolls and exploring the other delights of Maine while still traveling globally, teaching grandkids to swim and dive in their pool, watching the osprey goslings from the nest near their dock, taking whale watches and museum crawls, and enchanting their visiting six children and 12 grandchildren.

Lois is predeceased by her beloved parents, Edith and Louis Symons, her brother, James Symons, and her husbands, Karl and Ezra. She is survived by her six children: Jeff Lewin, Geoff (Sue) Lamdin, Jan (Jules) Stein, Peter (Kate) Lamdin, Nancy Lewin, and Andy Lamdin; 12 grandchildren: Sam (Liz) and Jessica Stein; James Lamdin, Kelsey (John) Willard, Eleanor (James), Greg and Sylvia Lewin, Micah (Laura) and Leah (Conor) Lamdin, Courtney and Caitlyn Lamdin, and Jake (Gabby Tiede) Fallica; and six great grandchildren: Phoebe and Caleb Stein, Luke and Liam Lamdin, and Abram and Marion Lewin.

Lois spent the final years of her life with her daughter in Plattsburgh,NY, which inspired her to dream of writing a book in her 90s: a memoir that would have borne the subtitle: From Pittsburgh to Plattsburgh.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Brown Funeral Home, 29 Broad St. in Plattsburgh. (518) 561-3980. Online condolences may be offered at www.brownfuneralhomeinc.com.