Lois A. Hoy Phillips, 89, of Monongahela, died Monday, September 19, 2016 at the home of her daughter. She was born February 14, 1927 in Waynesburg, the daughter of Carl and Opal Lemley Hoy.
While employed by Thompson's Christian Bookstore in Waynesburg, Lois arranged a display of Holman Bibles for which she won first place. Her prize was a trip to the Christian Book Sellers Convention in Chicago. While at the convention, Lois got to meet and sit near George Beverly Shea, (who was considered the first international singing star of the gospel world) as he sang "How Great Thou Art." Lois was known in the Mon Valley area for her talent of artistry. She would draw chalk pictures for various churches and organizations. On one occasion, she remembered being escorted by the police to do a chalk picture for the local Rotary Club. In 1985, her famous picture of Mingo Park's Henry Bridge was copied to make Christmas cards and sold by the Monongahela Historical Society. Friends and relatives always cherished the decorated envelopes of greeting cards that she sent to them. In 2005, she was privileged to be in the Historical Society "Ladies of the Mon" calendar as the lady of September. She sang with the Good Time Singers, a group that visited nursing homes in the area and was stage manager and pianist for the Show Boat Variety Show for many years. She was very active at the Monongahela Senior Center, was a lifetime member of the Monongahela Valley Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, where she was past treasurer and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Monongahela. She was proud to be a second cousin to comedian, Don Knotts.
Left to cherish her memory is her daughter, Karen and husband Joseph Ambrose of New Eagle; two grandchildren, Tamie Ambrose and Pete Conkle, Dominic Ambrose; two great grandchildren, Elizabeth and Joshua Ambrose; brother, Carl and wife Donnis Hoy, Jr. of Spraggs; three sisters, Ruth Ann Miller of Waynesburg, Vivian "Betty" and husband Bob Fischer of Punxsutawney, Carol and husband Paul Kapnicky of Morgantown, WV; numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, John Mack Phillips who died March 10, 1996.
Friends will be received on Thursday, September 22, 2016 from 2-4 and  6-8 PM in the Frye Funeral Home, Inc., 427 West Main Street, Monongahela, where services will be held on Friday, September 23, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the Rev. Alan Morrison officiating. Interment will follow in Claughton Chapel Cemetery, Waynesburg.