For years, Ruth Schneider set an alarm each night for 5:30 p.m., awaiting a phone call from her good friend Lois Neis Hamilton.
The two knew each other for about 30 years and met in Eudora, where Hamilton was born and raised.
Hamilton died at the age of 83 on Sept. 26 in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. She was born in Eudora in 1939, and graduated from Eudora High School in 1957.
“She was one of the dearest friends I’ve had,” Schneider said. “I will miss her terribly.”
Benny Dean was a classmate of Hamilton’s at Eudora High School, and said she worked hard in everything she did.
“She was a self-made person,” Dean said.
Despite her move to Arkansas later in life, Hamilton always kept ties in Eudora. She was widely known as a philanthropist and perhaps her most generous gift to the city was water.
Hamilton contacted city leaders when she thought of a solution for scarce water access: the wells on the farmland she owned. Now, 100% of Eudora’s water is drawn from these wells.
According to her obituary, “Lois believed it was her Christian obligation ‘to conserve and protect God given land and water resources and to provide my abundance for future generations.’”
In 2011, the Lawrence Journal-World reported the wells pumped 195 million gallons of water a year, all provided to Eudora for free.
“I just feel like I’m helping Eudora every day, and I want to continue helping Eudora every day,” she told the newspaper at the time.
City Manager Barack Matite worked closely with Hamilton over the years.
“She always saw the best in people and wanted to make sure generations of Eudorans will have sufficient water as we continue to grow,” Matite said.
Matite said his constant communication with Hamilton led to a friendship. About three years ago, Matite and Mayor Tim Reazin visited Hamilton in Arkansas to celebrate her 80th birthday.
“I would consider her a friend,” Matite said. “She always gave a lot of grandmotherly-like advice on a lot of things.”
Ben Neis, a real estate agent in the Kansas City area, is related to Hamilton since she and his dad were cousins. Neis is in charge of fulfilling Hamilton’s wishes now that she’s gone, and that includes making sure the water on her property is continually supplied to Eudora.
“I’m so fortunate to be put in the position where my responsibility is to fulfill Lois’s wishes,” Neis said. “Fortunately, she’s always been a very generous and humble person and will continue to be.”
Hamilton’s philanthropy exists beyond water. She wanted to take care of Eudora’s senior citizens, and one way to do this was to supply a van for the Senior Foundation of Eudora.
The fund for a new van is about $4,000 from fulfilling its goal, said Ruth Hughs, president of the foundation. Hughs said she’s appreciative of Hamilton’s generosity and knows her giving nature extended from her faith.
Neis agrees with this sentiment.
“Lois’s fundamental religious beliefs put her in a position where this was of paramount importance to her,” Neis said. “We should all be so lucky to be in a position where this is the type of legacy that we leave, whether you’re helping out city municipalities or other people along the way. It’s truly impressive.”
Hamilton was part of many ventures, including owning the Eudora lumberyard, taking over distressed hardware stores, buying struggling hotels, investing in small companies before they got large (Lowes, Home Depot), and land, according to the Lawrence Journal-World story and her obituary.
Ben Terwilliger said she was a lifetime member of the Eudora Area Historical Society and known for breaking gender barriers in Eudora.
“Lois was the first woman to work for and manage a number of different businesses in the Eudora community. She was the first woman to manage the Eudora Farmer’s Elevator from 1967-1968,” he said in a Facebook post recognizing her legacy.
A memorial service for Hamilton is planned for 2 p.m. Monday at the Eudora Recreation Center. Hamilton’s obituary can be found here.
Reach reporter Abby Shepherd at [email protected]
