Sep 21, 2016 3 min read

Lois A. Hoy Phillips, 89, of Monongahela, died Monday, September 19, 2016, in the home of her daughter.

She was born February 14, 1927, in Waynesburg, a daughter of the late Carl and Opal Lemley Hoy.

While employed by Thompson’s Christian Bookstore in Waynesburg, Mrs. Phillips arranged a display of Holman Bibles for which she won first place. Her prize was a trip to the Christian Book Sellers Convention in Chicago, Illinois. While at the convention, she got to meet and sit near George Beverly Shea (who was considered the first international singing star of the gospel world) as he sang “How Great Thou Art.”

She was known in the Monongahela Valley area for her talent of artistry. She would draw chalk pictures for various churches and organizations. On one occasion, she remembered being escorted by the police to do a chalk picture for the local Rotary Club. In 1985, her famous picture of Mingo Park’s Henry Bridge was copied to make Christmas cards and sold by Monongahela Historical Society. Friends and relatives always cherished the decorated envelopes of greeting cards she sent to them. In 2005, she was privileged to be in Monongahela Historical Society “Ladies of the Mon” calendar as the lady of September. She sang with Good Time Singers, a group that visited nursing homes in the area, and was stage manager and pianist for Show Boat Variety Show for many years.

Mrs. Phillips was very active at Monongahela Senior Center and was a lifetime member of Monongahela Valley Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, where she was past treasurer.

She was also a member of First United Methodist Church, Monongahela.

Mrs. Phillips was proud to be a second cousin of comedian Don Knotts.

Left to cherish her memory are a daughter, Karen and husband Joseph Ambrose of New Eagle; two grandchildren, Tamie Ambrose and Pete Conkle and Dominic Ambrose; two great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and Joshua Ambrose; a brother, Carl and wife Donnis Hoy Jr. of Spraggs; three sisters, Ruth Ann Miller of Waynesburg, Vivian “Betty” and husband Bob Fischer of Punxsutawney and Carol and husband Paul Capnicky of Morgantown, West Virginia and numerous nieces and nephews.

Deceased, in addition to her parents, is her husband, John Mack Phillips, who died March 10, 1996.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in Frye Funeral Home Inc., 427 West Main Street, Monongahela, where services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, September 23, with the Rev. Alan Morrison officiating. Interment will follow in Claughton Chapel Cemetery, Waynesburg.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.fryefuneralhome.com.