Lois Gerhard Conley, 91, formerly of Halifax, PA, died peacefully surrounded by her family on Monday, March 23, 2009 at Pleasant View Retirement Community Manheim.
Born in Jackson Township, she was the daughter of the late Elmer and Sarah Miller Gerhard.
Lois was the wife of the late Lieutenant Colonel Richard H. Conley who died in 1995.
She graduated from Elizabethville High School and subsequently graduated with honors as a Registered Nurse from the Polyclinic Nursing School, Harrisburg. Lois then took post-graduate work in nursing education at the University of Pittsburgh with affiliation at Steele Mager Hospital and Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She was a Life Red Cross Nurse and was active as a Red Cross Instructor, and School Nurse. A life member of the Order of the Good Shepherd Auxiliary of Susquehanna Lutheran Village Millersburg and a member of Messiah Lutheran Church Fisherville where she served on church council, member of the Ladies Aid Society and as a Sunday school teacher for many years. Lois was a member of the Halifax Senior Citizens group and volunteered her time for Meals on Wheels for the Elizabethville and Halifax areas. Lois was an avid hunter and fisherwoman. She was known for her oil paintings, crafts, crocheting and knitting.
Surviving are two sons, Richard W., husband of Brenda Latsha Conley of Manheim, and Ronald P., husband of Dana Smith-Conley of Colorado; five grandchildren; three great grandchildren; and a brother, David E. Gerhard of Millersburg. She was preceded in death by a son, Alex B. Conley; five brothers, Melvin, Marlin, Reverend Paul, Elmer and Aaron Gerhard; three sisters, Margaret Bastian, Mildred Enders, and Sarah Gerhard.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend her memorial services from the Hoffer Auditorium at Pleasant View Retirement Community, 544 North Penryn Road, Manheim, PA on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 2 p.m. There will be additional memorial services from the Messiah Lutheran Church (Fisherville), 3 Church Street, Halifax, PA on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends at Messiah Lutheran Church (Fisherville) on Saturday from 10 a.m., until the time of the service. Interment in Maple Grove Cemetery Elizabethville.

Published in the Patriot-News on 3/30/2009