Lois R. Barnes

Lois Mae (Riggs) Barnes, daughter of Martin and Gertrude Riggs, was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 19, 1931. Lois passed away peacefully on January 11th at her home in Phoenixville, PA, surrounded by friends and family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, ex-husband, Charles M. “Chuck” Barnes, Jr., and her brother, Gary Lynn Riggs, DDS.

A graduate of Western Reserve University’s Flora Stone Mather College (now Case Western Reserve) with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Lois enjoyed an extensive career that spanned both the creative and medical fields.

Initially, she was a fashion illustrator for various popular department stores (including Penny’s, Polski’s, Zody’s) throughout the country. Then, after the ad world turned to photography, she became a self-taught medical illustrator at the age of 47. She was still producing medical illustrations at the age of 86.

Her renowned work included over 1700 illustrations across six editions of “Corman's Colon and Rectal Surgery” (Marvin Corman, MD), "the gold standard in its discipline" (JAMA). She was also the medical illustrator for Dr. Alberto Pena’s books for pediatric colon-rectal surgery.

Lois is credited with naming the Indiana Pacers, the ABA team her then husband, Chuck Barnes, co-founded as one of its original owners.

She was equally instrumental in helping Chuck launch Sports Headliners, Inc., the pioneering management company for professional athletes. This trailblazing firm, founded in the early 60’s, represented racing legends Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, (Sir) Jackie Stewart, Jimmy Clark, Roger Ward, Bobby and Al Unser, among others—including Evel Knievel and NFL greats Johnny Unitas, O.J. Simpson, Earl McCullogh, Al Cowlings, and Pat Hayden.

Lois was also a talented fine artist and painter, capturing beauty on canvas in both oil and acrylic. https://grafinis.blog/2018/02/03/lois-barnes-artist/ She was a designer of tiles, tennis dresses, children’s plates, fantastic Halloween costumes, and did some set designs while in college and for her kids’ plays.

She was a resident of Palos Verdes, CA, for over 40 years and a long-time member of the Palos Verdes Peninsula’s Artists’ Studio Gallery, where her stunning landscapes were exhibited and sold for more than 20 years.

She is survived by her sister, Joan Gould Winderman, daughters Lisa (husband, Chuck Babbitt), Carla Venezia (husband, Joseph), grandchildren, Vito Venezia, Angie Venezia (husband, Reed Loar), Katie Venezia (partner, Kevin Woods), Gina Venezia (partner, Conor Papina), 13 nieces and nephews, and 3 great-grandchildren (Wesley, Tycho, and Isla).

She was a wonderful mom and friend to many. Her creativity, humor, and smarts were inspirational. She was an excellent cook, and dinners usually began at 10 pm due to her detail in making everything perfect.

Her favorite quote was Coolidge’s, “Press on. Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

With this determination, she survived Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, open heart surgery, and was a 16-year pancreatic cancer survivor.

If you would like to make donations in her memory, because she experienced being a parent of a child with cancer (Carla), St. Jude was one of her favorite charities. She was an environmentalist and a supporter of The Arborist Society. https://www.arborday.org/tree-registry, and was an advocate for wild and domestic animals.

May Lois rest in eternal love~