Lois Jacquelyn (DeWitt) Buckner

Lois Jacquelyn Buckner, age 95, of Grand Haven, passed away on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at Dogwood Shores Assisted Living. She was born on June 27, 1929, in Grand Haven, MI, to the late George and Ida (Vanstrat) Dewitt.

Ninety-five years is a long time. Maybe not in respect to the universe, or the existence of the world, but in terms of one single human life? It may as well be eternity. The past 95 years have given us The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, Prohibition, the first man on the moon, the invention of computers, the internet, and mobile phones that contain all the information in the world at our fingertips on a whim. We've had 16 presidents, a World War, the Civil Rights movement, vaccines for Polio and Measles and more. We've taken pictures of planets unfathomably far away; we still don't know much about the ocean. Amelia Earhart disappeared. And we've had one Lois Jacquelyn Buckner (DeWitt) - one incredibly remarkable, adventurous woman whose authenticity and wonder for the world could rival that of the great explorers if only she'd had the resources.

It's nearly impossible to encapsulate an entire person with words alone, but if anyone deserves the effort, it's her. For those of us who knew her, this isn't going to be a complete biography - how could It be? And for those of you who didn't know her - just know that there is so much more than what these words can capture.

Most recently, Lois could reliably be found basking in her sunroom watching birds and fiddling with her latest craft. "I've got to keep busy," she'd say. Whether that was adhering marbles to lotus pods with glitter glue or making pinecone bouquets to display throughout her house, she was always up to something.

But no story starts at the end. In 1946, at just 17 years old, Lois married Wesley Buckner. They would have four children in the coming years, along with opening the first drive-in restaurant in Grand Haven, L&W Drive In, in the mid-1950s. Ultimately, L&W was short-lived, and they went on to other ventures until Lois took some time off to raise their children.

There are countless stories of travel and camping and family trips, each told with the same reverence and affection and nostalgia for a time that once was. Her husband passed too soon, but she remained a beacon of spontaneity even as a widow. Remember, "I've got to keep busy." And that she did. In her 60's, Lois took a six-week-long solo trip through Europe and North Africa. She walked on the glaciers in Alaska during a month-long tour in an RV with her parents, daughter, Linda, and son-in-law, Terry. When her own mother turned 80, they went white-water rafting together in West Virginia. When Lois herself was 80, she went indoor skydiving, at 83 years old, she took a zipline over an abandoned lime quarry in Ocala, FL, and at 87 years old, she walked the maintenance catwalk under the New River Gorge Bridge - a casual 857 feet above the water and just two feet wide.

Lois' spirit for adventure extended into other aspects of her life too. She made sure that the grandkids and great grandkids knew how to pick wintergreens, and where the best crawdads were. There were camping trips, geode hunting adventures, and more double dipped chocolate peanuts than anyone could ever count. Well into her 90's, she could be found at The Farm with her chainsaw and a roaring bonfire; nobody was ever surprised when she came back without eyebrows. That's just gram for you!

The adventures didn't need to be far away, or expensive, or grandiose, to still be the best adventure of the day. Lois was just as thrilled to cruise around looking at Christmas lights as she was picking shells out of the Gulf on Ft. Myers Beach. Truly she embodied the notion that the adventure is what you make of it, and we were all along for the ride.

Lois was a prolific collector of whatever caught her eye, ranging from the beauty of American Art Glass and marbles, to the whimsy of M&M memorabilia, wind spinners, and even the occasional potentially morbid animal skeleton. Make no mistake, each and every one of these things was art in her eyes and the world she saw was beautiful because of the things in it, not in spite of them.

The legacy Lois left behind is not a story of unfathomable philanthropy, or of awe-inspiring discovery, or world-changing innovation. Instead, she leaves us with a smile on our face every time we think about the goose truck. She leaves us giggling, thinking about purple drawn-on eyebrows and agreeing to whatever is said to her even when she definitely didn't hear it.

Lois leaves behind her three generations of geode hunters, two generations of adults enthusiastically shouting, "I SEE BEAR LAKE," and responding to "do you know the best way to find out?" with "wait and see." She leaves a legacy of picking up beautiful things and making mundane things beautiful (and sometimes a little weird), and of being fiercely independent to a fault.

Lois took a little bit of light with her when she passed, but she left a whole lot more behind, within us, to spread as we see fit. The best gift she could have given us was the joy she found in living, and I hope that in the days to come, we can follow in her footsteps to embrace every opportunity to be silly and to create and to celebrate.

Rest in love, Lois. We couldn't have asked for better.

Lois is lovingly remembered and missed by her daughter, Linda (Terence) Cowan of Grand Haven; and son, Lorin (Ken) Buckner of Georgia; six beloved grandchildren: Tina (Robert) Bunker, Cory (Abby) Miller, Brandi Farmer, Ryan (Jennifer) Christensen, Cody (Karen) Christensen, and Chris (John) Helder; seven great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren; her sister, Virginia VanderSchaaf; brother, Richard (Kathy) DeWitt; and several cherished nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wesley Buckner (1981); daughters, Vicki Miller and Luann Christensen; grandson-in-law, Dwayne Farmer; and brother-in-law, Charles VanderSchaaf.

In accordance with her wishes, there will be no public services held.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Dogwood Shores Assisted Living or Hospice of Michigan.
 

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