Lois G. Fitzhugh - Obituary

ois Katherine Groves Fitzhugh, daughter of the late Gilbert and Maggie Groves, was born on April 18, 1932 in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Being the tenth of ten children, Lois was the baby of the family. She attended a one-room school house in Flint Hill, Virginia where she had to walk 3 ½ miles each way. After finishing high school in Culpepper, Virginia, Lois completed nursing school in Washington, D.C., then started a career as a Licensed Practical Nurse. When she first arrived in Washington, D.C. Lois lived with her sister Ann and brother-in-law Ervin. Set up on a blind date by her sister Marguerite’s (Sis) husband Eddie, Lois met Creede Fitzhugh. Lois and Creede married on August 23, 1958. From this union, two daughters, Nedra Rene and Marlene Alicia were born. In the mid 1960s, the family moved from Southeast Washington, D.C. to the Sunset Hills neighborhood in Seat Pleasant, Maryland. In 1977 the family moved to the Enterprise Estates neighborhood in Mitchellville, Maryland. During most of her nursing career, Lois worked for the District of Columbia Government where she provided care to individuals at their homes. She last worked at Sharpe Health School on 13th Street, Northwest, caring for and supporting special needs students. She retired in 1987 at the golden age of 55. Not only was Lois a compassionate nurse, she was a tremendous wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Some of her strongest traits were loving, caring, comforting and teaching, and she spent most of her time at home with her family demonstrating those traits. Not one to sit still, Lois always kept busy and she enjoyed a range of activities like arts and crafts, home improvement projects, gardening, puzzles, reading and baking, and she was good at them all. Her homemade pound cake and chicken pot pie were family favorites. But she especially liked to sew, and was a talented seamstress. She made custom draperies, furniture slip covers, suits for Creede, and all sorts of clothes for her family and anyone else. Lois even made an elegant wedding dress for her niece, and bridesmaids dresses. She made “go-go” dance outfits for Nedra and her friends when they performed at the school talent show. The outfits were such a big hit that she received requests from neighborhood girls to make some for them. When Marlene was five, Lois made a squirrel costume for her. Lois made “California Raisins” costumes for her three young grandsons. No matter what the project or task, Lois was always prepared. If you needed something, Lois could make it. If something was broken, Lois could fix it. At least it seemed that way. The Fitzhugh home was often a gathering place for family, friends and fun. Lois and Creede together were just good people, and they were so inviting. For generations Lois was not only loving toward her own family, but she also extended that same warmth to those around her. She was especially thoughtful of the neighborhood school kids, looking out for them at the bus stop, letting them wait inside her garage on rainy days, and shooing dogs away. She patched up scrapes, cuts and bruises. She was a daycare provider to her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their friends. Over the years she was thought of so affectionately that even as adults, many of these same friends continued to visit her, and often asked of her wellbeing. Lois was a twenty-eight-year breast cancer survivor. Lois departed this life on June 4, 2022. She leaves to cherish her memory, daughters, Nedra and Marlene (Steve); siblings: Pearl and Coolidge (Barbara); half-siblings: Gilbert, George, Mitchell, Virginia and Alice; grandchildren: Richard Jr. (Shakita), Keith, Raymond (Jessica) and Marcellis; great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by husband, Creede; siblings: Jenny, Jack, John, Charlie, William (“Bill”), Marguerite (“Sis”) and Ann; step-mother Josephine; half-siblings: Lily, James and Westley. Relatives and friends are invited to Mrs. Fitzhugh's Memorial Gathering on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 6160 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, Maryland. Inurnment Maryland Veteran's Cemetery - Cheltenham, 11301 Crain Highway, Cheltenham, MD, 20623. The family welcomes visitation as a time to reflect and celebrate during this gathering, however there will be no planned ceremony and no repast.