(SARSFIELD) AHLSTROM

LOIS HILLENBRAND

Dec. 11, 1930 - May 22, 2024

Lois was peacefully called to eternity in Richmond, KY, after declining health from Parkinson's Disease. Beautiful inside and out, she was a friend to all and a joy to know. Born to Thomas A. Sarsfield and Mary Keough Streiner Sarsfield, she was raised in Brookline, PA and schooled by The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. She married her coworker at Colonial Supply Co., William Joseph Hillenbrand, Jr. raised three children among wonderful neighbors in Pleasant Hills, and was a soprano in the choir at St. Thomas a Becket RC Church. A devoted daughter, wife, mother and grandmother, she had a special affinity for the elderly. At 52 yrs., she earned her LPN and nursed seniors in Pittsburgh, Florida, and North Carolina. Retiring to Florida, and then moving to North Carolina after Bill's passing, in her 70s she met and married her high school sweetheart Harry J. Ahlstrom, and they remained together living in the North Hills until his death in 2020.

Left to cherish her memory are her children Cathy Hillenbrand Nowicki (late Marion) of Clemmons, NC, William Joseph Hillenbrand III of West Palm Beach, FL, Douglas James Hillenbrand (Lisa) of Richmond, KY; grandchildren Dr. Kylie N. Nowicki of Greenville, NC, Cole V. and Kieran V. Hillenbrand of Lexington, KY; cherished nieces and cousins, special life-long friends in PGH and NC; and special friend Sharon Thacker of Richmond. Fiercely proud of her Irish ancestry, she was devoted to the Sacred Heart and Mary the Blessed Mother. We know that Heaven rejoiced upon her arrival!

A Mass of Christian burial was held at St. Mark's RC Church in Richmond, KY officiated by the Rev. Thomas Farrell on Tuesday, May 28 at 11 am. A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Pittsburgh, when she is returned home to rest at Queen of Heaven with her family.