Lois Mae (nee Hazel) Giniecki, 87, of Glenville, N.Y., passed away peacefully in her home on July 24, 2025, among family, especially with her devoted husband William Giniecki by her side, after a brief battle with cancer.

Lois was born on March 23, 1938, in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Wendell Hazel (of Opportunity, Wash.) and Agnes (nee Erickson) Hazel (of Spokane, Wash.).

Lois will be deeply missed by her husband, Bill; daughter Kathleen and her husband Randy Young, of Sandy Hook; and granddaughters Natalie, Marlena (of Lansing, Mich.) and Lauren. Lois is also survived by her brother Richard and his wife Connie, of Portland, Ore.; his children, Michelle Winn of Hillsboro, Ore., and Rick Hazel of Florence, Ore.; and her brother Larry and his wife Donna Hazel, of Oregon City, Ore.

Lois graduated from Tigard High School (Tigard, Ore.) in 1955. During her high school years, she was an avid horsewoman and participated in competitions in the mid-1950s and earned several ribbons in Western Pleasure Riding and Confirmation with her Arabian horse, Monique. She then went on to Portland State College, earning a Bachelor of Art degree in Education.

Lois and Bill had their first date at American Lake near Tacoma, Washington in 1961 where Lois was teaching English at Mason Junior High School. Bill was an Army Captain, stationed at the Fort Lewis Army Base, near Tacoma. They dated for a year while in Washington and both relocated to Portland, Oregon, for new jobs. Bill proposed to Lois on the Willamette River, on a river boat in 1962. Lois married Bill on June 22, 1963, in Portland, Oregon, at St Mary’s Cathedral. They were married for 62 years. While in Portland, Lois taught English at Wilson High School. In 1963, they moved to Fort Wayne, Ind., where Lois taught at North Side High School and Bill worked for International Harvester. While expecting their first, and only child, they moved to Emerson, N.J., in 1965 where Bill worked as a Sales Manager for White Motor Company and Lois was a librarian at Ridgewood Public Library. After their daughter, Kathleen Anne, was born in 1966, the family spent many enjoyable afternoons at Graydon Park, near the library where Lois worked. In 1971, Lois and Bill, with Kathleen in tow, moved to upstate New York, to Glenville, a quiet suburb, near Bill’s parents, Vincent and Angela Giniecki. Bill and Lois have lived in that same home, on Park Lane, ever since.

In Glenville, Lois became a substitute elementary teacher. She was an involved parent at Kathleen’s school, where Lois joined the PTA, running various fundraising events including book fairs, and clothing drives.

In 1976, she joined Bill in operating his parents’ family business, the Country Garden, in Schenectady. Together, they operated the nursery and farm for more than 36 years, until retirement, closing the business in 2012, after 100+ years of operation. Many of their customers came to the Country Garden just to spend time with Lois. The Country Gardens of Niskayuna Community flourishes at the site of the former nursery, with Lois Lane ambling through it in honor of this remarkable woman.

In her “spare” time, Lois was the consummate reader and bridge player. She enjoyed an occasional crossword puzzle, though she’d recall how much better her mom was at crosswords. She also enjoyed her mom’s ability to make amazing pies. “It was all in the pie crust,” Lois would say. She and Kathleen would joke that the pie crust skills skipped both of their generations. Lois enjoyed time with her friends and when the Country Garden was closed during off-seasons, Lois and Bill relished trips to Oregon, Puerto Rico, Florida, Martha’s Vineyard, and Texas (where her daughter and family lived for 16 years).

A few of Lois’s favorite memories included training and riding horses with her father, and family trips to the Oregon Coast. She cherished trips to Texas for the birth of each of her granddaughters. She was a dedicated Mom and Mima, attending recitals, soccer, and field hockey games, and gymnastics and volleyball meets and graduations. Lois could answer more Jeopardy questions than anyone else in the family. She loved MGM musicals, Broadway plays, and musical artists Tony Bennett, Judy Collins, and Willie Nelson.

Lois was fiercely independent and a trailblazer for women in teaching in the 1960s, advocating for equal access to benefits, pay and a voice on issues at schools where she taught. She told her daughter and granddaughters “there’s no limits to becoming whomever they wanted.”

Memorial services will be held on Friday, August 8, at 1:30 pm, at St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church, Schenectady, N.Y. A private interment will be in September at Saratoga National Cemetery.

Donations in Lois’ memory may be directed to The Community Hospice (https://www.communityhospice.org)