Lois Bertha Gagner (Shirley)

Baileyville - Lois B Shirley Gagner of Woodland (Baileyville), born November 19, 1929 passed away January 5, 2020 at 8:09 a.m. after battling Dementia at the Colonial Health Care facility in Lincoln. She was the daughter of John M. and Marion B. Shirley. Lois was predeceased by her beloved husband Ernest Edgar “Sam” Gagner and their four children Jeff, Janice, David and Frank. Also, her brother John (Jack) E. Shirley and great grandson Addison Coty . She is remembered and loved very much by her surviving grandchildren- Nick Beattie (Deb), Jacob Gagner (Candy), Samantha Gagner/Roehrich (Dan), John Gagner (Sarah), Nicholas Gagner, Ashley McGinley, Mercedes McGinley, Chad Gagner (Keila) ,Larry Saunders, Jennifer James (Tim) Great Grandchildren Quinn, Noelle, Briar and Trey Beattie, Kassidy Giggey, Antonia and Morgan Gagner, Kylie and Casey James. Also a wonderful daughter in-law Vicki Gagner and two very special friends Jenny Jones and Cathy Holmes along with special Niece Linda Shirley and Nephew Jack Shirley (Tarhata) and their children Sian and John.

Lois was born up at the Kelly Land Farm by the Power House on the CC Road. She grew up on the St. Croix River and was a true Maine country girl. She loved nature, the river, the forest and all that inhabited it. She learned to hunt and fish with her father and brother Jack. She graduated from Woodland High School in 1949. She was involved in many clubs and organizations while going to school, but none as important as the Glee Club. Lois could sing like a bird as many would witness years later at the family’s annual Corn Boil up at camp on Squirrel Point. When Sam and Lois sang together it was if the earth would stop spinning and all would listen to their beauty. A true example of love and marriage, Lois took great pride in being a loving wife and mother to her four children. She loved her community and the community loved her. You could not go cold or hungry in Woodland as long as Lois was around. She would instruct her children to bring home all who were in need and she would find a way to cloth and feed them. She also took great pride in teaching children with special needs at the Woodland Elementary and High Schools. Treating all the children as if they were her own. She shared a very special relationship with Jenny Jones of Woodland. There were plenty of mornings where the two of them would be drinking coffee at Lois’s kitchen table solving the world’s issues and you better not come around if you were a Republican. She loved life and put a lot of love in it. She was kind and treated people with respect and never judgmental.

She was a Communicant of St. James the Greater R.C. Church in Woodland and she was proud to serve God. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 am, Saturday, August 29th at St. James the Greater. Burial will follow at Woodland Cemetery. A celebration of Lois’s life will follow the burial. Arrangements by Mays Funeral Home, Calais & Eastport.