Lois Guthrie

Lois Jane Guthrie, 101, passed away at 4:15 pm on Monday, March 21, 2022. Lois was born on March 8, 1921, in Indianapolis, IN and she was the daughter of Oran and Mae (Ralstan) Guthrie. Lois moved to Vincennes with her family when she was 4 years old and spent the rest of her life in Vincennes. Lois was a 1938 graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School of which she was class valedictorian and a member of First Christian Church where she was the oldest living member. She went on to attend Indiana Business College. Lois retired from Metropolitan Life Insurance after thirty-eight years of service. After retirement she went on to become a secretary for Good Samaritan Hospital working in the dietary department. She volunteered at Good Samaritan Hospital and was very active as a volunteer for the Vincennes Pet Port spending countless hours there grooming the cats. She also volunteered for the Knox County Humane Society and was the oldest living member and was instrumental when it was formed in the 1950's. They later named the cat room the Lois Guthrie Veranda. Lois also was an avid supporter of the Knox County Public Library and enjoyed reading very much. Lois never married or had children of her own, but her love for her small and scattered family, and for her ecosystem of close friends and confidantes, was deep and true. And above anything on this earth she loved animals. All of God's creatures were treasures to her. From her many pets and companions-Hector, Midnight, BJ, and too many more to name-to the homeless and neglected cats and dogs of her beloved Vincennes, and on to all of God's wild and splendid creations, her love and care was fierce and boundless as the currents of the restless ocean. Lois was such a tiny person that she couldn't buy clothes off the rack to fit her figure. Everything she wore, except for her wool coats and sweaters, she made at her sewing machine. Slacks, skirts, shorts, tops-all were one-of-a-kind items that graced her small and slender frame for decades. All stylish, yet always her own style; all perfectly suited to her inimitable grace and her sharp eye for color and fashion. Traveling was another passion for Lois and enjoyed traveling to France, England, and Scotland with her sister Virginia and her husband Dr. William Pryor Marshall. She also traveled quite frequently by train. Lois was also a member of the Cadet Club and entertained many pilots that were training at George Field during WW II. She also participated in Little Theatre at the Fortnightly Club during the 1940's. After 101 years, one might have expected her to have accumulated a warehouse of treasures, but her small, ground-floor apartment contained only a few. A treasured lamp her sister had brought her from Italy, an heirloom table that had belonged to her mother at the turn of the 20th Century; a chair and stuffed animals from her babyhood; a box brimming with photos of her family and the many pets she had love in her long life; a painting she created; and a quilt hand-sewn and tied by her grandmother. Apart from these few things, she didn't waste sentiment on objects. Survivors include her nieces Heidi Marshall and Zoe Scott, great nephew, Will Kohudic and Parker Marshall, great niece Rebecca Cashin. Lois is preceded in death by her parents, Oran and Mae Guthrie, sister, Virginia Marshall and her husband Dr. William Pryor Marshall, nephew, Douglas Marshall, niece Katharine (Kit) Kohudic and her husband Serglus Kohudic. Special thanks go out to her care givers great nephew Will Kohudic, Phyllis Haag, Jim Wehrheim, Marilyn English, and Peggy Morgan. Lois left behind only a few things that could be held in our hands, but her real legacy is one of a life lived fully, a race well run, and a thread of gold that binds it all flawlessly together. Her favorite verse, which she recalled effortlessly in her final days, was Micah 6:8 - "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Online memories may be shared with Lois' family and friends at www.goodwinsievers.com. Goodwin-Sievers Funeral Home is privileged and honored to be entrusted with the care of Lois. The Guthrie family has requested memorial contributions be made to the Knox County Humane Society or the Vincennes Pet Port.