Lorie worked for two newspapers, and then as a secretary before receiving her B.A. and teaching certificate. While teaching high school English, she worked on her M.A. at Governors State University, Park Forest, IL and then received 62 hours of college credit in a cohort writing program from Roosevelt College in Chicago, IL. She also took writing classes at the Univ. of IA two summers, Columbia Univ., in OH for two summers, and Bard College in Hudson-on-Avon for two summers.

After retiring as an educator, she and her second husband bought a home in the retirement community of Sun City West, Arizona, where they spend their winters and return to Illinois in summers. They live in Orland Park, Illinois where she raised her daughter, Lynn, and her son, Mark.

After she remarried and retired to AZ, Lorie wrote two young adult novels. Her first novel, FIRST STEPS, under the pseudonym Lorenda Lux, attracted an editor at Columbia Univ. Summer Writing Festival, who approached her and explained that she would like to represent the novel. It sounded good until she explained the many readings at universities and book stores, book signings at libraries, and appearances on various media to promote the book. It sounded like work, and Lorie was retired! She spent the first part of her life working all the time and looking forward to someday when she'd have time to write and play. So she declined and had the book published through Amazon, where her friends and former students were able to purchase the book while she wrote the sequel to it entitled, SECOND CHANCES, also under the name Lorenda Lux.

Prior to the pandemic, Lorie taught creative writing for RISE, a senior program at Rio Salado College in Surprise, AZ where she's presently teaching another creative writing class. She's also president of a book club, and belong to a painting club, a current events club, Great Decisions Club, Memories to Memoirs club, and her hobby is swimming. Her retirement is indeed golden!