Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens was born on August 12, 1925. She was one of 16 children in her family. Growing up in a large family meant there were many siblings around her. Lois lived in Minnesota, specifically in the town of White Bear Lake.

Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, held a significant job as the police lieutenant in the same town. This role gave him authority and attention in the community. His position became relevant later when there were issues regarding law enforcement and an investigation related to Lois. It was reported that some police officers mentioned that Jerome might have impeded an investigation concerning a child's death. Lois eventually got married and became an adoptive mother to six children in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens was convicted of the murder of her adopted son, Dennis Jurgens, in 1987. Dennis died in 1965 when he was just three years old. His case received little attention until his birth mother, Jerry Sherwood, sought answers in the early 1980s. After discovering Dennis had died, she believed he had been beaten to death and pushed for the case to be reopened.

The investigation into Dennis's death revealed that he had experienced serious abuse while living with Lois. In court, evidence was presented to show that she had been violent towards him. The jury found her guilty of third-degree murder, and she received a sentence with a maximum of 25 years in prison. Lois was paroled in 1995 after serving eight years.

In 2000, Lois was suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold, but an autopsy showed no signs of poisoning. There were also allegations that she had started a fire that killed her mother-in-law years earlier. Lois lived a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. She died at the age of 87 on May 7, 2013, and was buried in the Union Cemetery in Maplewood, Ramsey County.