As a child, Lois DeMita was often found shoeless, playing under the fig trees that surrounded her family's Alabama farmhouse. Enduring the Great Depression made DeMita immensely grateful for the rest of her life, her family said. That trait would be her hallmark characteristic to everyone who knew her.

"She was so happy with her life and so gracious for the wonderful life she was able to live," said Christine Rice, the director of the Glen Cove Senior Center, where DeMita and her husband, Frank, were members. "She would hope that she was able to give as much joy to people who gave to her."

The Glen Cove resident died of natural causes on Sept. 6, at the age of 91.

Lois DeMita was born on March 22, 1934, in Geneva, Alabama. She graduated from Geneva High School in 1952 and attended Masse

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