Yesterday October 7, 2009, my grandmother of 103 years passed away. She lived an amazing and wonderful life, with 13 Grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren that fulfilled so many years of happiness. I have vivid memories as a youngster at her house in central Nebraska. Sitting on her front porch in the afternoons, while the thunderstorms would roll in. We would wait nervously for the tornado warning alarms to sound off at the fire station in the small town of Marquette. I clutched my newly attained little league baseball trophy that I was awarded just a few days earlier. I knew that if the town was to be destroyed by a vicious whirlwind, you could bet, it wasn’t going to take my trophy with it! The smell of toast with mint jelly in the mornings was always a favorite of mine and all my cousins. Grandma worked at the country store in town and would let me and the others browse through the candy display cases. Candy cigarettes, gold mine nugget’s bubble gum and of course the wax soda bottles of flavored liquid, yum yum, these were just a few of my favorites. I could go on and on with stories of grandma taking care of us grand kids. I will miss those days and the time I got to spend with her!
Below is a tribute to Lucille’s oldest daughter Lola Lee (my mother) who passed away a year ago August. The tribute shows a timeline of Lucile’s life and how she outlived the majority of her children and many other close family members.
Glady's Lucile Hutsell Foote - 1905 ~ 2009
The tribute is told by my Uncle Darold Hutsell who is the last surviving child of Lucile.
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Hello, I am Darold Hutsell, Lola’s baby brother. I was born about 10 years after her.
Death never comes at a convenient time. It is often too soon or sometimes too late . . . but never just at the right time. Our mother, Lucile Hutsell Foote is approaching 103 years old. She WANTS to die . . . she talks about it frequently . . . she prays to the Lord to let her go home . . . sooner rather than later. Before Lola Lee was born, Lucile gave birth to a baby boy, Donald Eugene Hutsell in April of 1928. He lived only 4 days . . . death came way too soon. Then in 1929, a baby girl . . . Donna Marie Hutsell was born on March 4th. She lived less than 2 months . . . death came way too soon. Mom and Dad had just barely celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary when he suddenly and unexpectedly died a few months later at age 47 . . . death came way too soon. 25 years later, Mom married Laurel Foote whom she had met and dated prior to meeting Daddy. Laurel had raised his family and was now a lonely widower having lost his wife. They were married in 1976 and they had 4 years together before he died in 1980 . . . death never comes at a convenient time. In 1989 on Lola Lee’s birthday, our brother Keith died at age 56 . . . way too soon. 3 years later at age 57, our other brother Dale died in 1992 . . . way too soon. Just when would be the ideal or opportune time to die? When Bernie died in November of 2006, he had lingered for several months with major medical problems. Who can begrudge the mercy that death brings in cases like that? A month later, in December 2006 . . . our Aunt Margaret, the last and youngest of our mother’s siblings died after battling cancer for over 10 years. My mother’s mother, Grandma Oglesby died in 1954 and as I remember it, she was old . . . old . . . old. She had what in those days was called “hardening of the arteries” before they identified it as dementia or Alzheimers . . . but she was old at age 72. Death never comes at a convenient time. Too soon or too late . . . but never just at the right time. We all have an appointment with death . . . few of us will ever know when it will happen. When I told Mom about Lola Lee’s death, her immediate response to me was: “Well, it is a blessing!” But then, a couple days later, she said to me: “I just cannot believe that Lola Lee has gone before me!!!” Our Mother has now OUTLIVED 2 daughters, 3 sons, 2 husbands, 3 sisters and 3 brothers. She is still quite healthy and still has a keen mind in spite of the fact that she wants to die! |
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