Lois Kae (Friesen) Huber, 75, who served God and her community in ministries of music and education, died Nov. 14, 2025, in Hutchinson, Kan. She was born Oct. 14, 1950, in Fowler, Kan., to Isaac (Ike) L. and Kathryn M. Friesen, and grew up on a dairy and wheat farm and attended church in Meade, Kan. She was preceded in death by older brothers Lloyd and Clyde who both died in infancy. Her father died in 1951, two weeks after her first birthday, and she and her mother formed an inseparable bond.
Lois was baptized at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Meade, where already in junior high she began accompanying congregational singing and performing special music on organ and piano. She would share these God-given talents for the rest of her life.
She enrolled at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., in 1970, where she met her partner in music and life, Jay Huber. They were married Aug. 19, 1973, in Meade.
After graduating from Tabor with degrees in music and education in 1974, she began her career teaching at schools in western Reno County, Kan. The couple moved to South Hutchinson in 1978. Lois taught 1,004 children, including her sons, in her kindergarten classroom at South Hutchinson Elementary School. She introduced students to letters, numbers, Stone Soup, teddy bear picnics, churned butter on Kansas Day, basic concepts in treating others as you would like to be treated and Christmas programs she directed and accompanied on piano at the same time. She retired after three decades but couldn’t stop teaching, graduating to junior high as a paraeducator assisting in math and English classrooms.
At South Hutchinson Mennonite Church, now known as Journey Mennonite Church, Lois could be found at the organ and piano for four decades. She accompanied hymns and choirs, shared preludes and special music and planned worship services and Christmas programs.
She was preceded in death by her brothers and parents and is survived by her husband, Jay; sons Tim (Heidi) in Newton and Jonathan (Jessica) in Wichita; and three grandchildren.
