12/3/1932 – 7/11/2026
Poughkeepsie, NY
Lois MacKennan Earle died at age 93 on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at Alexian Village Assisted Living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, surrounded by family. She had moved to Wisconsin in August 2020, after living eleven years in Lawrence, Kansas.
Lois was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on December 3, 1932, the youngest child of Archibald MacKennan and Jane Neely MacKennan. Her beloved siblings were Jean MacKennan Marshall (the eldest), of Maine, and Robert Archibald MacKennan, of Poughkeepsie, both of whom preceded her in death. She was also pre-deceased by her eldest grandson, Lucas Earle Brower (2017), and her nephew Peter Bruce Marshall (2005).
Lois earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College in 1953, and then taught at LaGrangeville Elementary School. In December 1955, she married Victor Montagne Earle, III, in Poughkeepsie; they divorced in 1979. They had three daughters: Jane Stewart Earle, Susan Elizabeth Earle, and Anne McCallum Earle.
An artist, a voracious reader, and “a giant and a force of nature in her time,” Lois centered her life around art, family, and the visual environment, especially her homes. She lived with her family in New York City, the Bronx, and Hastings-on-Hudson. On her own, she lived in other towns on the Hudson River (Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley), creating beautiful home spaces, and later in Bath and Yarmouth, Maine. She loved her many friends in Canada, Maine, and the New York area, and, in addition to making art, enjoyed playing tennis, re-arranging furniture, being with her grandchildren, and taking walks on Popham Beach in Maine.
Lois studied sculpture, painting, and drawing at the Westchester Art Workshop under artist Leslie Dor; her spiritual mentor was Kenneth G. Mills of Toronto. She exhibited her artwork several times, and she curated exhibitions at the Gallery at Hastings-on-Hudson. Moving artwork around on walls was important enough to her that she still did it in the last weeks of her life! While she lived in Lawrence, she volunteered at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas. She had previously worked in retail, at a printing company, and for an interior designer.
She is survived by her daughters: Jane, her spouse Anne Brower, and their son Simon Brower Earle, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Susan, her spouse John Pultz, of Lawrence, Kansas, and their children Ian, Noah, and Eliza Pultz-Earle; Anne, of Park Ridge, New Jersey, and her children Emily Earle Fishel and Oliver Earle Fishel; her former spouse Victor M. Earle; her nephew Peter MacKennan; and her nephews Matthew, David, and Robert Marshall.
The family is deeply grateful for the loving care that Lois received from the amazing staff at Alexian Village, including from caregivers Tameko, Gigi, Caldon, Shandise, Simone, and Delilah, and director Anne Wright. We also appreciate the kind help of Northshore Funeral Services and Jody Armata in Milwaukee.
A celebration of life will take place in the New York area in Autumn 2026.
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