Lola Lewis

Lola Blanche (Buffington) Lewis, 1 June 1928-22 October 2023

Lola Blanche Buffington was born in Washington County, Missouri on June 1, 1928, the fourth child of Ida Mae (Knuckles) Buffington and Fred George Buffington. In 1930, following economic dislocations from the Great Depression, Lola's parents and several others of her extended family relocated to the Disappointment Valley of southwestern Colorado. She grew up there and in the nearby hamlet of Egnar, Colorado.

At 13, Lola dropped out of school to become the homemaker for her father, four brothers, and baby sister following her mother's death from complications of childbirth. In later years, although she never begrudged the time spent caring for her family, she always wished she had been able to finish school and "just be a teenager", and she made certain that her children all graduated from college.

Lola was introduced to her husband to be, Darl Lewis, by his older brother, with the words "If I can't have you for a wife, I want you for a sister." They were married in 1948 and spent the next 43 years moving between Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Washington, Missouri and California for Darl's work before retiring to rural Los Lunas, New Mexico in 1991. Following Darl's death in 1999, Lola moved to Albuquerque to be closer to her children and grandchildren.

Lola was a highly accomplished seamstress. Her nieces, especially, used to say, "I don't need to buy dresses; I have an Aunt Lola". She learned quilting from her mother as a pre-teen, out of necessity, and continued as an adult, and especially in retirement, out of joy. She made several hundred elaborately hand-quilted fancy quilts (and gave them away to relatives, friends, neighbors, and anyone else who entered her orbit) along with many, many simpler "drag around" quilts that she gifted to children for their very own - usually with a stern admonition to mothers to allow the kids to wrap up on the floor, build forts, and generally use them for their intended purpose.

Lola is survived by sons Stanley and wife Jeanne, Boyad and wife Peggy, Jeff and wife Barbara, all of Albuquerque, informally adopted daughter LaDawn and husband Dale Crockett of Riverdale, UT, sister Carolyn Crawley of El Cajon, CA, grandchildren Darl Lewis, Stephanie Lewis and husband Geo, Evan Lewis, Danielle Candelaria, Adam Isler, Eric Isler and wife Morgan, Shandra and husband Jon Infanger, Amber and husband Todd Olsen, Alyssa Crockett, Breann and husband Adrian David, Austin and wife Serinda Crockett, fourteen great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.