November 20, 2019
Obituary
Lois Alfreda Jackson
Lois Alfreda (Graze) Jackson was the young-
est of eight children born to the union of Johnnie
Clifton and Chauncey Earle (Hightower) Graze
of Beaumont, Texas. She graduated from Mar-
tin High School in 1946. Nathan Joseph Jackson
Jr. was the first young man her mother allowed
her to call her boyfriend and on her deathbed in
November 1946 she sent for Na-
than and his mother and asked
him to marry Lois and take care
of her and he did just that until his
death in 2012; they had been hap-
pily and lovingly married for 65
years. Lois and Nathan had four
daughters: Brenda Gail, Phyllis
Jeanette, Janet Denise and Kathy
Renee. In 1951, with Brenda and
Phyllis in tow, they migrated to
Tacoma, Wash., where Janet and
Renee were born.
Lois and Nathan doted on their
three grandsons: Frelimo Mott,
Robert (Bobby) Janisse Jr. and
Marcellus Jackson. The fami-
ly was long-time members of St. John Baptist
Church under Dr. J.A. Boles and later Shiloh
Baptist Church under Rev. Earnest Stonewall
Brazill (Nathan’s cousin). In 1987, after Na-
than’s retirement, they decided to move back
to Beaumont, and united with St. John Baptist
Church under Rev. O.J. Beasley Jr. After 10
years in Texas they relocated to Portland where
they joined Vancouver Avenue First Baptist
Church under Pastor J.W. Matt Hennessee. Lois
loved her church and was a very active member
Page 7
In Loving Memory
-- she served as a Deaconess, was on the Moth-
er Board, and was the church photographer.
She made the beautiful hat quilt that hangs in
the church’s fellowship hall and volunteered
where ever needed. She also created memorial
pages for deceased members of the church and
The Miracles Club.
Lois was a very talented and accomplished
person. She was an excellent seamstress. As
their four daughters were grow-
ing up, she made all their clothes
for school, church, proms, cotil-
lions, and her eldest daughter’s
wedding gown. Nathan willing-
ly wore all the suits, shirts, and
ties she made, which fueled her
creative confidence and honored
the memory of her mother who
taught her to sew at an early age.
Lois also designed and made her
own clothes, including a dozen
crocheted dresses. She was a
true fashionista and was known
for wearing hats, high heels and
plenty of bling bling. Lois also
was an avid crafter, quilter, and
furniture upholsterer; she laid ce-
ramic tile, designed and made drapes, designed
and made all her greeting cards, made stained
glass windows, made macramé wall hangings,
painted ceramic figurines, and crocheted af-
ghans (gave away over 50). Lois was an am-
ateur photographer and loved to enhance her
photos with Photoshop which she learned after
the age of 80; she became proficient in restor-
ing scratched and torn photographs. She recited
Black poetry and had an amazing 100+ poems
committed to memory. Her Black doll collec-
tion includes 500+ dolls many of which she
made, painted, cleaned up and/or redressed;
135 of her celebrity dolls are on display at
Self Enhancement, Inc. She also had a green
thumb and loved to garden and raise beau-
tiful flowers. To top it all off, Lois was an
excellent cook and she loved cooking for her
family and others. She worked expertly in so
many creative fields that her slogan became
“Leave it to Lois.”
Lois was preceded in death by parents John-
nie and Chauncey; husband Nathan; three sis-
ters, Johnnie Mae Konigar, Margaret Eloise
Graze, and Ella Jean McCarter, three brothers,
Ulysses Clifton Graze, Winfred Talmon Graze
and Edgar Earle Graze; and a grandson Robert
(Bobby) Janisse Jr. Lois’ legacy of love and
memories will be cherished by her sister Dor-
othy Mae (Dear) Williams (101 years old) of
Beaumont; daughters Brenda Polk (Jerome) of
Portland, Phyllis Jackson of Los Angeles, and
Janet Jackson and Renee Brown (Kenney) of
Chicago; grandsons Frelimo Mott of Los An-
geles and Marcellus Jackson of Chicago; god-
daughter Adrienne Breckenridge of Baltimore,
Md.; special daughter Eva Miles of Portland;
and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, church
family and loving friends, including the Polk/
Mullen Family, the Bubbling Brown Sugar So-
cial Club and AARP N/NE Portland Chapter
5264.
Memorial donations in the name of Lois
A. Jackson will be gratefully accepted by the
non-profit agency Self Enhancement, Inc.,
3920 N. Kerby Ave., Portland, OR 97227,
www.selfenhancement.org.
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