Sr. Lois Marie Davis, SSS

January 30, 1937 - November 29, 2025

(The text that follows was written by Sr. Lois herself, and was only edited for brevity.)

Sister Lois is the second of six daughters born to Agnes and Albert Davis of New Orleans. She grew up in a loving, close-knit community of family and friends—one that included generations of “kissing cousins,” an active parish life, and the formative experience of being an older sibling. Growing up in the South, within a segregated church and city, deeply shaped her spiritual and social awareness. These early experiences, along with her career as an educator, gave her ample opportunity to reflect on life’s deeper meaning and her call to service. From an early age, she learned not to confuse “the message” of Jesus Christ with “the messenger.”

Sister Lois attended Xavier University of Louisiana, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. Xavier holds the distinction of being the only Black Catholic university in the Western Hemisphere. Following graduation, she taught first-grade children in New Orleans for five years. However, it was not until she encountered the Sisters of Social Service that a calling—long present in her thoughts and prayers—became clear and compelling.

Her spiritual mentor, Fr. Gregory Frank, SSJ, introduced Lois to the Sisters of Social Service, who invited her to spend a summer as a counselor at Camp Mariastella in Wrightwood, California. Living and working outdoors alongside these vibrant, grounded, and socially conscious women proved to be a transformative experience. Over the course of four summers “camping with the Sisters,” Lois came to recognize God’s preparation for her call to religious life. In September 1962, she entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of Social Service.

As a young Sister, Lois provided leadership training and program development for youth and young adult groups through Catholic Social Services in the Los Angeles and Sacramento Dioceses. In 1973, she earned a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Sacramento.

In the 1970s, Sister Lois began serving in the field of adoption through Holy Family Adoption Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Adoptions. In 1989, she completed a two-year postgraduate fellowship at the Reiss-Davis Child Study Center in Los Angeles, where she trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with children. For more than thirty years, Sister Lois offered compassionate psychotherapy services to children, youth, adults, and families.



Reflecting on her vocation, Sister Lois shares:

“Life as a Sister of Social Service has been a gift and a challenge, and I am most grateful to God who loves us beyond measure.”

Some Community Involvements

In an effort to give back to her community, this is a partial list of how Lois volunteered her time:

• Member of National Black Sisters’ Conference, 1977-2025
• Member of the inaugural planning committee for the Annual Catholic-Jewish Women’s Conference
• Participant in the South-Central Organizing Committee
• Advisor to divorced and single adults at the Rosa Parks Sexual Assault Crisis in Los Angeles
• Member of the Rosa Parks Center Advisory Board.