Lois Bukowsky
Lois Bukowsky, 63 of Lake St. Louis Missouri, was born May 20, 1946 and died March 10, 2010, after bravely fighting a 2 year battle with ovarian cancer. Lois was preceded in death by her parents, Gilbert W. and Florence M. Bukowsky and by her brother Gilbert W. Bukowsky, Jr., who just passed away on February 19, 2010.
Lois is survived by her sister, Sharon Ann Riney, her nieces Sharian Meegan Bakker and Kathy Lynn Stone and nephews Michael T. Bukowsky and Joseph M. Riney. She is also survived by brother-in-law and sister in-law, grand nephews and grand nieces and her beloved pets, Rusty and Cuervo.
Lois was a retired Physical Education teacher in the Parkway Schools District for 30 years. Lois was a creative and innovative individual who introduced inventive and challenging programs into her schools physical education activities, including a comprehensive gymnastics program utilizing bars, balance beam, floor exercises and trampoline, along with fellow team instructor. She was the director for her schools 6th grade camp program at Camp Lakewood. She is fondly remembered by many young campers who came back to be camp counselors under her direction in the camping program.
She was an avid equestrian trail rider, who was an active member of the Ozark Ridge Riders, the Show-Me Missouri Back Country Horsemen and had been a member of the Metro Mounted Search Unit. She loved skiing and spent many winters skiing the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. She also traveled extensively the West and Southwest of our beautiful country. In her early years, her summers were spent as a camp counselor at camps in Minnesota and the Missouri Ozarks. Her later years were spent riding Cuervo and Rusty beside her, camping in her favorite beautiful Missouri Ozark Horse camps.
Lois requested donating her corneas so that she could give the gift of sight to others. She also requested cremation and that there be no service, knowing that she would be in the thoughts and prayers of her dear friends as they sat around that first campfire without her this spring and probably many more campfires after that.
Lois was an individual that knew no strangers and gathered around her a family of the most loving, caring friends that anyone could be blessed with. She was fortunate to know this blessing in her lifetime and cherished each and every friend. And from her saddle on Alpine, her beautiful white horse, her first horse, meandering through the forest trails of the clouds in the heavens, she will be watching over all of her dear family of friends, and true to her ability, she will always know where you are.
A fund has been established for Cuervo and Rusty to help in their continued maintenance in their wonderful home with Charlene. Donations can be made to Charlene Polite, 24 Clear Lake Court, Wentzville, MO 63385. Please note that this address has been recently corrected!
Lois was always kind to me and treated me as if I were family. Hey LO, goodbye.
Finally, let me share these lyrics below and know that Lois would love it.
The Roy Rogers Show (“Happy Trails”)
Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue.
It’s the way you ride the trail that counts,
Here’s a happy one for you.
Happy trails to you,
Until we meet again.
Happy trails to you,
Keep smilin’ until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we’ere together?
Just sing a song, and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you,
Til we meet again
My memories of Lois when she was 8 to 9 years of age, were of her beautiful smile, her happy and friendly personality.
She loved the pool at Heman Park in University City, loved life, and her wonderful family.
I will never forget Lois. She has been a friend for 35 years. We have traveled together all over the country and we have camped with and without horses all over too. As I walk around my house I see so many things Lois has made. She was so creative. She will trully be missed.
Lois compassion and love of animals and trail riding will be greatly missed.
In the beginning: Cross Country trail ride, Bicentenial Wagon Train. Through the years: St. Francois State park, the rattle snake and Alpine leading up home; rasing puppies together (Muffin & Lacey); taking our nieces camping together at Valley Springs; too many trail rides to count — Big Piney, Angus Highly, Golden Hills, Valley Springs, Brushy Creek, Big Creek, Fall Trail Rides and so many more. Our shared joy to have great nieces who love horses. Your retirement years waiting for me to retire so we could ride into the sunset together. Seems that God had other plans. Goodbye old friend. See you on the other side where our critters are waiting for us cause how could there be a heaven without them.
Lois, there are many adults out there who benefitted from your care and instruction in PE. I truly enjoyed the years spent teaching with you at Hanna Woods School. Steve remembers sharing with you all the experiences of being a mounted park ranger in our beautiful county parks, especially Greensfelder. I am so sorry we lost you too soon.
Love, Dianne Sehie
Our deepest sympathy to the family of Lois. We didn’t know her very well but she was very kind to Bill’s mother, Claire.
Lois was a great freind. I have been her neighbor for 10 years. We were very close. Lois loved taking photos of all of gods creatures. She had many talents. I will truly miss her smile and company on cool night with a fire and BBQ.
Lois was a great freind. I have been her neighbor for 10 years. We were very close. Lois loved taking photos of all of gods creatures. She had many talents. I will truly miss her smile and company on cool night with a fire and BBQ.
Lois, lots of good memories began with our camping and trailering together in the early Seventies with Koko and Alpine. When tied close together at camp, these two horses, a buckskin mare and a white gelding, frequently reached across to eat each others hay and grain with no squabbles. Over the years, we enjoyed many horseback riding trips and even a few vacations together. I remember how we learned some French while in Quebec, Canada. And what fun we had when nine Ozark Ridge Riders traded their horses for canoes for a week’s float and portage trip on the Boundary Waters Lakes between Minnesota and Canada. After retiring from teaching, your job as Big Creek’s Camp Photographer made lots of people happy with the creativity and talent you demonstrated taking horsey pictures. And how amazing Cuervo was to carry you on any ride, slow, medium, or fast, and stand still whenever you aimed the camera. I’m so glad we had some good rides last summer – Big Creek, Brushy Creek, and Mingsville Horse Camp. Over the July 4th, 2009, weekend at Mingsville, we enjoyed riding and swimming as usual. A special treat was a hay ride with a guitar playing preacher strumming songs on request. Lois, you led the sing-a-long because you knew the words to all the camp songs! Happy trails and keep singing!
Paul and I had many ennjoyable times with Lois and the Ozark Ridge Riders. She was one of Paul’s first friends in the club. She will be missed so much by so many.
Lois took me under her wing when I asked to learn how to camp with my horse. Told me what to take, and showed me how to put up a picket line. As she predicted, I laid in my little tent with one eye open most of that first night wondering what my horse was doing. That’s how I got to know Lois and the Ozark Ridge Riders who I count among my dearest friends. Thank you Lois. Since then, my husband Bob has taken up riding with me and we enjoy camping (no more tents!) and riding together! Thank you Lois! We’ll remember you and Rusty around the camp fire, and you and Cuervo riding ahead to take pictures. I’ll always treasure my favorite pictures of my mare, signed by you. And we’ll look forward to riding together again someday and singing around a campfire made of stars. Maybe then we’ll ALL be able to remember the words!
I didn’t know Aunt Lois all that well, but she was loved by so many. I never realized how much she did until I read this. She lived her life to the fullest. It seems like she did everything she wanted to do. She saw many beautiful things and had an amazing time doing it. She’ll be missed by a lot of people, but at least she’s up in heaven with her brother. I miss you Aunt Lo and Grandpa Gil. I’ll see you two again someday. I LOVE YOU!