Amos Lofland, Obituary (1944 - 2023)

Amos J. Lofland, Jr. of Dover, Delaware departed this life on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at his home at the age of 78. Amos, one of eight children, was born on December 5, 1944, to Amos J. Lofland, Sr. and Ellen Smith-Lofland. Amos and his family resided in Lincoln until the death of their mother in 1953. Following her death, the family briefly lived with their maternal grandmother, Irene Smith. Unable to care for all the children, the family was divided and lived in different foster homes. Amos, Alfred, and Wayne went to stay with Mr. Mathew and Grace Warrington of Georgetown where they were nurtured and cared for under christian leadership. Amos received his education at William C. Jason High School in Georgetown. Upon leaving school and aging out of the foster care system, he decided to go to Milford where his sister Margaret resided. This is where he met and married Janice Baynard in 1967, and five children were added to their union - Christina Mary, Amos Junior, Cynthia Grace, Karen Marie, and Regina Grace. Amos had a special relationship with his first born daughter Tina. They shared a special bond. Amos was able to work in various capacities as a laborer on farms. He worked at Clifford Donovan and Purnell Feredel Farm, caught chickens at a poultry plant, was an Orderly at Milford Memorial Hospital, a trash collector for the City of Milford, and worked at a nursery in Georgetown. Although Amos believed in working, his favorite pastime was “having fun”. A game of spades, pitching horseshoes, betting on sports, and watching football and basketball are what he enjoyed most. His sense of humor was often timely, and he liked to make people laugh. He often referred to himself as “The Six Million Dollar Man”, meaning he could not be defeated. He called himself the “Black Indian”, referring to his mother, who was part Native American and passed down her hair texture and Native American wisdom to him. To his family, however, he was known as “Junie”. Always known for chewing "Red Man" tobacco and drinking beer, he could often be caught remembering old songs and singing along. He will be remembered for the life he lived, often referring to Mom-Grace’s saying, “One day at a time”. At the end of his life, he was cared for by his ex-wife, Janice and his daughter Karen. Although it was not always easy, it wasn’t always hard. Amos was preceded in death by: his parents Amos and Ellen Smith-Lofland, siblings Howard (Lunch), Stella, Margaret, Wagner, Richard, Alfred (Hap), Wayne (Goody), children Cynthia Grace, Christina, and Amos, and grandchild Rodney Keeshawn Lofland. Amos leaves to remember his life: ex-wife Janice Lofland, children Karen Barner (Craig), Regina Carter (Joseph), Angel Jones (Donald), daughter-in-law Elaine Lofland, and son-in-law Antoine Ford.