Lois Christine Johnson Murdock, 87, a long-time resident of Whigville, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at Countryside Manor of Bristol. She worked at Ingraham’s and Regional District # 10’s high and middle school cafeterias, and delivered the Bristol Press with/for her children on the sly. Lois loved people and people loved Lois. As her high school yearbook quote stated, “Lois is as friendly as a basketful of puppies.” She loved nothing more than asking every single person she met about his or her marital status, number of children, and favorite baseball team. As her eyesight failed in her later life, these pieces of information became her way of identifying the people around her. She would surprise everyone with her recall of every detail, new or old.

Another trademark of Lois was her amazing sense of humor and her quick wit. She never missed an opportunity to make a comic remark accompanied by her trademark smirk. She literally had everyone in tears of laughter with her comebacks, especially when using her “selective dementia” to HER advantage to make a joke that much better.

There were many loves in Lois’ life. She loved reading and shared this love with her children through weekly trips to the library and reading books at bedtime, even if it was the same book every night. Lois also loved food and talking about food. Ketchup, vanilla ice cream, chips, a Friendly’s hamburger on white toast, homemade potato salad, and all kinds of soup (except beef barley). She also enjoyed the social activity of eating, especially her daily lunches with her husband Clarence, her children, and her Countryside friends Richard, Angie, Gil, Giselle, Gaston, and Buddy. She loved adult education art classes, especially painting. She loved musicals of all kinds with her favorite being “The Sound of Music.” She loved her Red Sox, UConn Women’s Basketball, and UConn Men’s Soccer. She loved adventure with trips to a dude ranch, running wild with her Burlington girl cousins, camping at Hammonasset, bicycling, floating on her back in the ocean, going on bus trips with her mother Alice and her sister Mona, and visiting New York City with Clarence and their friends Jan and Ed. She also loved playing the card game War with her children and her friend Mrs. Roys and had an amazing winning percentage, once again showing off that smirk of hers whenever she won. She also loved Monday afternoon BINGO games at Countryside, with Clarence as her wingman, proudly winning lots of jewelry and lots of quarters. Lois loved television, especially Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and M*A*S*H. “I do no monkey business, but I am also beautiful.”

Above all else, Lois loved her family. Whenever any of us came to visit she would run down the list of each of our family members, checking to see how everyone was doing. She always had the same comments and questions about each person, but that is what made her our mom, wife, and friend. While dementia robbed her of her immediate short-term memory, she knew who we were and what was going on in our lives currently and the past. We will miss her dearly and will always love her more than lima beans and Brussels sprouts.

Lois was born in Bristol, Connecticut on May 25, 1929, the second daughter to Einar and Alice Bostwick Johnson. Lois was recently predeceased by her sister Mona Johnson Reed. She was the adoring wife of Clarence John Murdock for 66 years and the mother of four children, whom she loved and cared for dearly: Dale W. Murdock and his wife Cheryl of Middletown; Jane E. Murdock of Bristol; Davy J. Murdock of Whigville; and Sara M. Lo Presti and her husband Michael of Plantsville. She also had nine grandchildren - Shawn, Matthew, Anna, Stanislaus, Mayvella, Alicia, Joshua, Rebecca, and Abigail - along with one great-granddaughter, Makayla. She also had many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and friends.

The family would like to especially thank the staff of Countryside Manor of Bristol for their excellent loving care of Lois over the past 3-1/2 years. Their care allowed us all to strengthen our relationships with Lois, giving us back the funny, loving, caring person we all knew. Special thanks to Audrey, Laurie, Milly, Emily, Meka John, Bob, Princess, Jenna, Rocio, Luljeta, Dr. Zebrowski, Dr. Adler, and many others. We would also like to thank Dr. Kazi, Dr. Rosen, and her sweetheart Pastor Joe.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Lois to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 355 Camp Street, Bristol, CT 06010; Burlington Library Association, Inc., PO Box 1379, Burlington, CT 06013; or Countryside Manor Resident Council, Countryside Manor, 1660 Stafford Avenue, Bristol, CT 06010.

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