Lois Lanser, 89, of Pella, passed away Dec. 28, 2024, at The Cottages. Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Jan. 3, at Faith Christian Reformed Church, Pella. Interment was in Oakwood Cemetery, Pella. The family prefers memorial contributions for Freedom Bible Camp in Chariton or World RENEW.
Lois Elaine Blom, the oldest of five children, was born to the late Gysbert and Mathilda (Baarda) Blom on Feb. 8, 1935. She grew up on farms in the Kellogg and Lynnville areas. Attending Slagel Country School was a special part of her childhood. She walked two miles to school with a group of neighborhood children. During her upper elementary years, she enjoyed riding her horse to school. Sometimes her horse wriggled his way free and ran home. Someone had to catch it and bring it back. Later, she chose to go to high school when her parents gave her the option. She attended Newton High School and thoroughly enjoyed learning. During her high school years, she met Earl La Verne Jansen at Sully Christian Reformed Church. They married on May 6, 1953. Earl died due to a tragic car-truck accident in 1955.
Lois (Blom) Jansen met John W. Lanser at a church picnic in 1956, and they began to date. They married on June 19, 1957, at the home of John’s brother and his wife, Pete and Junella Lanser in Sully. John and Lois created a loving, blended family, which included Jerry Lee Lanser (9/2/50) and Virgil James Jansen (6/22/55). Those two young boys joined the honeymooners on a trip to Colorado. To John and Lois’s union, two more sons were born, Milton Jay Lanser (5/3/58) and Brent Allen Lanser (11/25/60). John and Lois were also foster parents to children with special needs throughout 1970s.
Lois and John moved with their sons to Pella in 1958. She stayed home to raise their sons in the 1960s and 1970s. John founded Lanser Home Service in 1974, and she became the office secretary in the 1980s and worked for a few decades before retiring.
In addition to being a dedicated and loving mother, she also volunteered for Christian organizations. For 34 years, she and John traveled south for a few weeks of volunteer work in the Mississippi Delta—where they served at Mississippi Christian Family Services and Cary Christian Center. She and John also went on many other service trips in the U.S. and in Central America. Locally, they volunteered with Friendship Bible Hour, a fellowship and study time with adults with intellectual disabilities. At Faith Christian Reformed Church, she attended prayer groups, played organ, and served wherever she was needed. She also played piano for a group called Notes of Harmony, which brought musical programs to local retirement communities and nursing homes.
Throughout Lois’s entire life, she held an unwavering faith in God, which she shared with those around her.
Lois and her husband John cherished each other and were blessed with a full life, being married for 63 years. They prayed for and enjoyed their four children and spouses: Jerry (Ilene) Lanser, Virgil (Deborah) Lanser, Milton (Mary) Lanser, Brent (Cheryl) Lanser; 14 grandchildren; and 29 great-grandchildren.
Lois’s surviving family includes her sisters and brothers, and their spouses: Gary (Carolyne) Blom, Darlene (Dave) Bower, LaVonne (Jerry) Vos, and Steve Blom. She is also survived by two Lanser sisters-in-law Junella (Peter) Lanser and Ruth (Marvin) Lanser, as well as Jansen in-laws Lilburn and Geneva (Rus) Jansen, Charlene (Jansen-Van Wyk) Van Maanen, and Marcille Jansen.
She was preceded in death by her first husband Earl Jansen, husband John W. Lanser, daughter-in-law Ruby (Steenhoek) Lanser, granddaughter Amy Lanser, grandson Daniel Lanser, great- granddaughter Aliza Lanser, sister-in-law Jocelyn (Cox) Blom, brothers-in-law Carroll Van Wyk and Ken Van Maanen, and many Lanser in-laws and their spouses—Brant (Johanna) Lanser, Arie (Johanna) Lanser, Henry (Clara) Lanser, Peter Lanser, Mattie (Henry) Jansen, Durky (Gerrit) Van Kooten, Nellie (Cornie) Van Maaren, Joann (Ludolph) Zylstra, Betty (Dewey) Nikkel, Harriet (Dan) Van Wyk (Alb Stursma), Dorothy Lanser (infant), and Marvin Lanser.
