Lois Small, 98, passed on March 26, 2018.  The homegoing service will be held on Thursday, April 5, 2018 at Saint James Presbyterian Church at 11:00Am with a family visitation beginning at 10:30am.  Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery.  Please see the full obituary below.


Lois Hannah Davis Small transitioned after 98 full years of life. She passed peacefully in her sleep on March 26, 2018 after a long life where she was loved by her family. On her last birthday, the month before she passed, Lois was smiling and laughing, and even amazed her family by blowing all her candles out in one breath.

Lois was born on February 24, 1920 in Charlotte County, Virginia. She was the oldest girl in the 10-sibling Davis clan parented by Abel Davis Sr. and Nannie Price Davis. Lois often spoke affectionately about her childhood. She always had someone to play with as a sibling of eight brothers and one sister. Lois also had fond memories of her time at a boarding school in North Carolina. For high school, she graduated from Ingleside Memorial Institute.

Lois was a beautiful, soft-spoken woman of great patience who worked with her hands at a young age. She learned how to cook on a wood-fired stove in her youth. Her culinary skills created a welcoming environment for her family. Even into advanced age, Lois enjoyed cooking and hosting.

During World War II, Lois made walkie-talkies for soldiers at Western Electric in Bridgeport, Connecticut . She took this responsibility very seriously since her dedication to wiring walkie-talkies could save a soldiers' life.

Lois continued using her hands as a cosmetologist. She was a graduate of Madam C.J. Walker School of Cosmetology in Richmond, VA. Lois also partnered with her husband Leo who had a dry cleaner's in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Leo and Lois' love for each other was clear to all who came to know them. They married after Leo returned from World War II in 1946. They spent their time as newlyweds in the home of a beloved family relative, Mama Dantzler, in New York City. Leo and Lois' two daughters, Cecilia Small and Levon Borha, came from this union.

During difficult times, Lois used her nurturing presence to keep the family together. Her husband Leo and daughter Cecilia passed within a short span of each other. She experienced intense grief, but Lois continued as a matriarch. She assembled computers until the age of 75 to assist in supporting the family. Lois loved to nurture her grandchildren: Eko Borha-Bhadmos, Ehi Borha, and Imade Borha.

By the end of her 98 years of life, Lois had three great-grandchildren in Morayo, Hannah (named after Lois' middle name), and Mya, who are daughters of Eko and Ibrahim Bhadmos.

Lois is survived by her daughter Levon, as well as three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Lois also leaves behind her sister, Lorna Hassell, who is the last surviving Davis sibling. Lois had a special, loving relationship with her only sister, Lorna Hassell. Lois is also remembered as a beloved aunt who created special memories for her nieces and nephews when they visited her home in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Throughout her entire life, Lois was a woman of faith who belonged to Presbyterian churches. She was a member of Ridgeway Presbyterian in Charlotte County, Virginia, Bethany Presbyterian in Englewood, New Jersey, and St. James Presbyterian in Greensboro, NC. Even to the end of her life, Lois had great affection for her church family at St. James Presbyterian, and her pastor, Reverend Dr. Diane L. Givens Moffett.

Lois made an indelible impact. We her family will forever love and miss her. Lois is now resting in God's care