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Name: ASHWANDEN, Lois Isabel, Mrs
Nee: Fawcus, dau. of Reginald Alfred Flynn 'Rex' Fawcus
Birth Date: 9 Mar 1914 Njoro
Death Date: 6 Nov 1998 Nairobi
First Date: 1914, returned in 1992
Last Date: 1998
Profession: Housewife. Went to England in 1929 and finally returned to Kenya in 1992 to spend her remaining days at Fairseat, Nairobi
Area: Njoro
Married: In Cookham 15 Nov 1934 Nigel Sydney William Ashwanden, Civil Servant (25.7.1905-15.1.1984)
Children: Penelope M. (23 May 1938 Maidenhead-2020); Priscilla Ann (25 Aug 1941 Newcastle upon Tyne-1958); two sons
Book Reference: EAWL, mini-Sitrep XVIII
War Service: Red Cross Nursing at Reading Hospital
School: Governesses, Loreto Convent
General Information:
Grandfather, James Fawcus, and early pioneer, came to EA in 1896 with his wife and 3 sons - Derwent, Arthur and Rex. Mrs Ashwanden's father, Rex, never returned to live in England. He experimented farming in the 'Bundu' - never made any money
mini-Sitrep XVIII - Fairseat - by Dennis Leete - "Another favourite was Lois Ashwanden - very autocratic and ruled the roost, but often invited us in for a couple of whiskys after dinner. She was a descendant of the Fawcus and Lemay families; some of the first settlers to take up land in Molo - round about the time Delamere started Equator farm at Njoro and the Rongai Valley. Lois' mother, as a young woman, was Beryl Markham's governess, during the First World War. Lois looked and behaved somewhat like Beryl did in her late years. I confess to some suspicions as old Clutterbuck was known to like the ladies! Lois was sent away to England to school when she was a teenager and eventually married and lived most of her life in England. However, she retained her links with her cousins in Africa and after her husband died she returned and was a generous sponsor as well as resident at Fairseat from its inception in 1992. Sadly Lois died in August 1998. Her children came from USA, Russia and UK to settle her affairs.