‘Lollipop lady’ Lois bids emotional farewell to job

A Lollipop Lady was celebrated as she bade farewell to the school she has worked with for the past 20 years, with emotions “pouring” on her last day.

“I’m excited but I’m also a little bit sad,” said Lois Hill (67), a San Francisco native who moved to Tallaght for love and became a Lollipop Lady in St Mark’s National School, in Springfield.

Lois met her Irish husband Gerry in the 1990s, on a coach trip across England, and he invited her to spend a few days in Dublin with him.

As it happens when love conquers all, she never left. The couple lived with Gerry’s family in Dundrum for a few years after, and once they saved enough for a deposit, they moved to Springfield.

“I was watching the Lollipop Ladies when bringing our son to school, and thought I might be suitable for the job, so I applied to the council,” Lois recalled.

Called a ‘crossing guard’ in American English, the role she took on is “not for everyone,” she said.

“You need to be a talker. But it gives you instant appreciation, from the children and the parents. You can’t say the same of every job.

“I get to start a new chapter now, but I met so many wonderful people since when I started. The children get to know you so well.”

All the appreciation for her hard work in keeping the school roads and crossing safe was shown again as Lois was hugely celebrated last Tuesday and Friday on her last day.

When asked if she thinks local authorities could do more for road safety around schools, Lois said that “every situation is different, but common sense needs to come from drivers too.”