Lois L. Callahan was born on June 3, 1918. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in education. She married Thomas P. Callahan on July 23, 1944. Lois taught for the next 39 years, spending 34 of those years as a teacher in the Kaneland School District. She retired in 1978. Lois was an active participant at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Sycamore and in the DeKalb County Farm Bureau activities. She also participated in the Episcopal Church Women (ECW), the AltarGuild, and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Order of the Eastern Star, and the Homemakers Extension.

Lois established a Designated Fund at the DeKalb County Community Foundation on November 1, 1995, when she contributed a $25,000 life insurance policy. The Lois L. Callahan Fund supports the educational expenses of any students from a DeKalb County high school or Kaneland High School. The scholarship award is for a student who intends to major in one of the following programs: Elementary Education, Nursing, Pre-Medicine, or Pre-Veterinarian. 

Lois L. Callahan passed away on Sunday, July 6, 2014. Through the Lois L. Callahan Fund, her memory stays alive and leaves a legacy of love and support.