Lois J. Weeks, 71, of Lawrence, KS, died on November 23, 2018, following a valiant battle against pancreatic cancer.
Lois was born in Beloit on January 6, 1947, to James Leland Bartley, Sr., and Doris Eileen Miller Bartley. She grew up on a farm in the West Branch community of Jewell County. She graduated from Esbon High School and later from Fort Hays State University. Following her graduation from college Lois moved to Downs, teaching at Esbon High School before working at the Downs National Bank for several years.
In 1991, Lois moved to Lawrence. She worked for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (now the Department for the Children and Families) in multiple capacities, rising to the position of budget director prior to her retirement in 2017.
Lois loved spending time with children and grandchildren and was a diehard KU Jayhawk sports fanatic. She also had an especially close bond with her siblings and enjoyed traveling with them on many special adventures in her later years.
She is survived by her son, Lance, and his wife, Rebecca, Lawrence, Kansas, her daughter, Laurie, and her husband, Luke Whittemore, Tampa, Florida, six grandchildren, Judson, Ashton, Avery, Samuel, Nathan, and Benjamin. She is also survived by three sisters Nancy (Roger) Nitsch of Hunter, Janice (Joe) Arneson, of Lawrence, Geneva (Tom) Tucker, of Lawrence, and a brother Jim (Kathy) Bartley of Grand Island, Nebraska.
A memorial service celebrating Lois’ life will be held on Tuesday, November 27, at 10:30 a.m. at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS, 66604. There will be a visitation on Monday, November 26, from 7-8 p.m., also at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family recommends memorial contributions be made to the Visiting Nurses Association and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.
