Lois M. Adamek (Rooker)

Lois M. Adamek, September 25, 1920 – June 28, 2025, was born in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, to loving parents Harold and Edna Rooker. She was joined by her sister, June (Wignall), two years later. The family lived in Epworth, Iowa, and Traer, Iowa, where Lois graduated from high school in 1937. She attended Iowa State University and was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority. When the sorority offered to pay for her to attend Oklahoma State University if she would reorganize the Delta Zeta's OSU chapter, she accepted the offer and transferred. During her time in Stillwater, Oklahoma, she met her first great love, Bill West. The couple married in February 1942, before Lois graduated with a bachelor's degree in home economics in 1944. With WWII in full swing, Bill joined the U.S. Army and was overseas when their son, William James (Jim), was born in 1945. After Bill's return, Lois gave birth to their daughter, Judith Lee (Judy), in 1947. Judy was just four months old when Bill was diagnosed with leukemia. The young family did its best to find fun and joy between Bill's treatments, but as time went on and the treatments proved unsuccessful, Judy and Jim lived with family members when Lois spent time at different hospitals with Bill. There were few leukemia treatments available in those years, and Bill eventually succumbed in March 1951, at just 32 years old.Lois and her children moved to Sumner, Iowa, to live with her parents in a new home they built to accommodate the family. Lois became a home economics teacher at Sumner High School, where she taught from 1951 to 1954.

In 1954, a chance meeting between Lois' dad and her former classmate, Victor (Vic) Adamek, brought Lois and Vic together. They had known each other in Traer from the time they were in fourth grade through graduation. Vic was an Air Force pilot, and when he showed up in his captain's uniform for dinner with the family, even Judy and Jim were impressed. Vic was stationed 300 miles away, so he drove to see Lois every other weekend until they married in May 1955, with Lois' sister, June, as her attendant.

The family of four moved to be near Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois, before Vic received his orders to move to Larson AFB in Moses Lake, Washington. For the first time in Judy and Jim's lives, Lois became a stay-at-home mom, a role she would continue for the next several years. While they were stationed at Larson, Lois gave birth to daughter Vicki, adding new joy to the family. Everyone doted on Vicki as she helped expand their sense of family. During Vicki's first year, Vic asked if he could adopt Jim and Judy, and they both agreed, which allowed the family to share the same last name.

Life as an Air Force wife was an adjustment for Lois, who wasn't used to pulling up stakes and moving to a new assignment every few years, and often moving from one house to another during each assignment. The family next moved to Misawa AFB on the northern tip of Japan's Honshu Island, about 400 miles north of Tokyo. Perhaps because of the distance and isolation, Lois and the family made lifelong friends during their three years at Misawa. After Japan, the family moved to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Jim graduated from high school. The family moved next to Hawaii, where Vic was stationed at Hickam AFB. Judy graduated from high school during that time, leaving Vicki as the only child at home.

Throughout these fast-paced years, Lois became involved in many activities with her children, as well as the Air Force Wives' Club and bridge clubs. In her later years, Lois was able to draw on her experience of constantly moving and meeting new people, which often involved feeling like an outsider, to become a warm and welcoming presence wherever she went.  After Vic developed cancer and retired from the Air Force, Lois, Vic, and Vicki moved to Sacramento, California, in 1967. Lois lived in the Sacramento region for her remaining 57 years. She went back to school to earn her California teaching credential and taught sewing at Loretto High School for several years.

During these years, Lois became active in her church community, first at Trinity Methodist Church and then at St. Mark's Methodist Church. Even though she was unable to attend in person in her later years, Lois stayed active with the St. Mark's community, often watching services on her computer, until her death.

After Vicki graduated from high school and Vic retired from his second career with the State of California, the couple traveled extensively to Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. When Vic died in 1991, Lois remained in their home, eventually moving to independent living at River's Edge. She then moved to assisted living in different locations before spending her last several years at Atria of Rocklin.

Lois became skilled on the computer in her later years. She wrote several volumes of her autobiography, which her grandson Noah helped her publish for the family. She also took great pride in making personal greeting cards for her wide circle of friends, her family, and the Atria staff. It was her mission, she said, to ensure the people she cared about knew how much she cherished them.

Lois was preceded in death by her husbands, Bill and Vic, her parents, and her sister June. She is survived by her children Jim (Maria) in Costa Mesa, Judy Chamow (Steve) in San Mateo, Vicki Mongan in Roseville; her grandchildren Nick Adamek, Jonathan Mongan, David Mongan, Rebecca Chamow, Noah Chamow; her great grandchildren Taylor, Tony, Dylan, Carter, Ava, Ben, Dylan, Mia, and Naomi; and her extended family of nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the remarkable staff at Atria of Rocklin for making her final years some of her very best. The loving care they provided to our mom went above anything we could have hoped for. Special thanks, too, to Sutter Hospice for helping our mom pass through her final months with grace and dignity.

A celebration of Lois' life will be held at the

Atria of Rocklin Clubhouse

3201 Santa Fe Way,
Rocklin, on July 20, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to St. Mark's United Methodist Church Endowment Fund online or by mail to SMUMC, 2391 St. Marks Way, Sacramento, CA 95864 or to Capital Public Radio online or by mail to Capital Public Radio, 7055 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95826.