Lois Evenson
Lois Evenson
Lois (Lowie) Evenson, 71, of Big Lake, Minnesota died May 22, 2026 at Cherrywood Advanced Living in Big Lake. Her funeral service will be 3:00 p.m., Friday, June 5 at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Fairview Cemetery in Willmar. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to St. Croix Hospice, Monticello, MN or Cherrywood Advanced Living, Big Lake, MN.
Lois was born in Belmond, IA on August 7, 1954 to LeRoy and Viola (Suntken) Christie.
She grew up in rural Belmond, IA and was baptized at Immanuel Reformed Church in Belmond, IA. Throughout the years, Lois was involved in 4-H and would show short horned cattle at county fairs. She made her profession of faith at First Reformed Church in Willmar, MN. She graduated from Willmar High School in 1972 and then completed a one year secretarial program at Willmar Technical College. Lois enjoyed staying active and played pitcher and first base position in softball.
She was united in marriage to Ron Evenson October 11, 1975 at First Reformed Church of Willmar. They lived on a farm in rural Benson and raised two daughters. She worked hard on the farm driving tractor, baling, gardening, and being an important part of the farming business. She also worked as a bookkeeper for Swift County Bank for two years.
Lois was a very passionate, loving, faith driven dedicated mom who would do anything for her daughters. She had a passion for learning new skills and inspiring new generations of students. She diligently worked for Benson Public Schools as a Title One teacher for 18 years. Lois’s generosity and empathy was apparent through her passion and creativity for making crafts for others (using her own stamps) and teaching herself new craft skills. She worked many years as a craft coordinator for the Safe Base program which was an after school program at Northside Elementary School in Benson. Lois also volunteered her time at Rice Hospital in Willmar, helping wherever needed and welcoming people. Lois had an extremely strong faith and resilience to her that she displayed throughout her life. She loved sharing God’s love with her beautiful voice through participating in church choir, Joyful Singers, Bible study, taught Sunday school, and singing in a Christian group called the Koinians. Through the Koinians groups she had an opportunity to travel to Japan and perform in Chicago. Lois truly was a follower of Jesus Christ dedicating her life to service to her family, children, and her community.
Lois had a sweet demeanor, always gracious, loving, assertive, and ambitious. Her giggle always brightened the mood and was contagious to the point of tears. She was a hard worker, generous with her time and love, and was a social butterfly. Later in life, staff at the Cherrywood Advanced Living facility were individually impacted by Lois’s ability to connect with each staff member about their lives and often would make their day by recalling details of each person’s lives. She was a blessing to many living within the facility. She loved watching Hallmark movies and was a dedicated Vikings fan.
On the last days of her life, Lois proclaimed the good news that she would be in “mansions” with the Lord and walk on streets of gold. She told her daughters that she was looking forward to meeting Jesus. Lois’s unfailing love for the Lord was evident throughout her life and especially in her last days of watching her pass with complete peace.
Lois is survived by her children: Kristine (Erik) Hanson of Big Lake, Angie (Mark) Haffely of Eagan; ex-husband, Ron Evenson of Benson; Lois is also survived by her six grandchildren: Ingrid, Nels, Henrik, Anja, Tyler & Isabelle; siblings: Vivian (Dan) Godin, Vernon (Bernice) Christie, Jeanne Koosman, and Arthur (Leah) Christie; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents LeRoy and Viola Christie, brother-in-law, Dan Koosman; and ex-mother and father in-law, Marge and Floyd Evenson.
