No matter what else she might be – devout Christian, mail carrier, “Rosie the Riveter” – Lucille Curnutte was friendly.
Lisa Cooper-Gollihue, a fellow member of Morse Mill Baptist Church, recalls being a young newcomer to the area.
“As soon as anyone walked in the church door, she was the first to welcome them,” Lisa said. “I knew nobody, and she made me feel so loved. She had these twinkling, sparkling blue eyes – almost like Santa Claus – and when she smiled it just melted your heart.”
Mrs. Curnutte, who died May 22 at age 98, was known by a genteel Southern nickname.
“She was never Mrs. Curnutte,” said her daughter, Sharon George, 75, of Iowa. “It was always ‘Miss Lucille’ to everyone.”
She grew up in north central Missouri and graduated in 1941 from Jamesport High School, where she was active in musical groups.
“A neighbor had found a violin and brought it to her,” Sharon said. “They found a little money to spare for new strings, and she played in the orchestra.
“We still have it; my daughter plays it.”
Sharon says her mother had her eye on a college education, but World War II intervened.
“She went to work as a ‘Rosie the Riveter’ at North American Aviation in Kansas City, working on B-25s,” Sharon said. During her two years there, she met young sailor Bill Curnutte.
The two were married in 1945 in Florida, where he was stationed with the Navy Air Force. They lived in Chillicothe briefly and then moved to Dittmer in 1951 after Bill got a job in St. Louis.
The family maintained a large garden, both vegetables and flowers.
In the late 1950s, Miss Lucille went to work as a mail carrier in Dittmer.
“She’d be up and gone before I got up for school,” Sharon said. “Daddy would get me ready and get me on the bus.”
Miss Lucille had an interest in photography from a young age.
“She always took pictures at family gatherings, holidays,” her daughter said. “Later she got into doing weddings and more.”
Miss Lucille also enjoyed a wide range of arts and crafts, including sewing and quilting, and was an accomplished painter.
“A neighborhood gentleman stopped by and told me that, shortly after he moved in, my folks stopped by to welcome him. They talked about his great view, and my mom said she would love to paint it. He made her a little space at the side of his driveway for her to set up her easel.”
She also enjoyed travel, especially after her husband retired in 1983. They took their camper all over, and never missed the annual Navy reunions in Farragut, Idaho, for those who trained there during WWII.
“She’d get Christmas cards from all over the country from people they met on trips,” Sharon said. “She really enjoyed all the friendships made along the way.”
After the death of her husband in 1998, Miss Lucille stepped up her church activities.
“My mother sat close to the back,” Sharon said. “And if she saw a new face, she’d invite them to sit in her pew with her. That’s how she met Chuck in 2013.”
Chuck was a recovering addict who quickly developed a friendship with the energetic Miss Lucille.
He ended up renting a basement room in her home, and the two were roommates until his death in 2018.
“He called her Mom, and you’d never know they weren’t mother and son,” Lisa said. “He took such good care of her.”
A 2014 fire destroyed the Curnutte home.
“It was heartbreaking,” Sharon said. “But at 91, my mother rebuilt – this time with wide doors, ramps, accessible bathrooms.”
In recent years, hats became something of a trademark for Miss Lucille.
“She had a different hat for every occasion,” Sharon said. “Before the fire, she had 100 of them. All but one had to be thrown away.”
Miss Lucille lived alone well into her 90s.
“Family members checked on her a couple of times a day. They took such good care of her,” Lisa said. “Although they did have a hard time getting her to give up her driver’s license a few years ago. At 94, 95 years old, she’d hop in the car and go to Iowa.”
For someone so gregarious, the isolation of the pandemic was tough.
“It was a hard year for her,” Sharon said. “But she had gotten her first vaccine, and was looking forward to getting her second one so she could go back to church.”
Sharon said her mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure about 20 years ago, but didn’t struggle much until this year, when she developed a swallowing disorder.
“She dropped 20 pounds from February to April,” Sharon said.
She took a fall in mid-May, suffering a broken leg, and doctors told the family she could no longer live alone. They also recommended a feeding tube, but Miss Lucille didn’t want that. She entered a hospice facility instead.
“It was nice, with a big window low enough for her to see out of,” Sharon said. “On the third day, my daughter, Anna, came and brought my mom’s old violin and played on the patio just outside for about 30 minutes. Mom really enjoyed that. She died later that evening.”
Sharon said her mother will be remembered for her faith, her flowers and her love of family.
“She was rarely ever upset with anyone. She would forgive them and move on. She was just always a very engaging person.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.