Dorothy Lucier's Passing

Anne Nephew reports:

"Last Thursday, July 15, Dorothy Lucier, widow of our Uncle, Lanny Lucier, died in her sleep. She was 95 years old. According to Tom Lucier, the remaining sibling of Clarissa Lucier Hilber, she had a peaceful death at the nursing home where her son, Father Jude Lucier, had earlier helped her into bed and kissed her goodnight. Her mind was very good up to the end, with just infrequent memory loss. The rosary is Thursday night and the funeral is Friday, July 23.

"Tom Lucier who does not expect to be at the funeral (he lives in New Jersey) attended Lanny's funeral about five years ago and said the church was packed then because the Lanny & Dot had been extremely active with the church as Eurcharistic Ministers, etc. and Fr. Jude served two parishes (Vietnamese and Spanish) and those folks all attended. Lanny & Dot were good friends with Tom's family because they lived nearby for years.

"Uncle Tom, who is currently undergoing eye surgery, said that Dorothy saved Lanny's life because he was a real roprobate as a youth, smoking, gambling, drinking, carousing and he hated church! He used to say he needed a good woman to control his behavior and he really got one. One exploit of his in high school was to remove a life size statue of St. Joseph from its pedestal and put it into the bed of one of the nuns. The screams were heard everywhere in the convent that night!

"Dorothy, older in years than Lanny, had been the secretary for a North Dakota judge and was most wise. Tom said he never heard her make a judgmental remark about anyone but was very intelligent. She was the letter writer of the family and kept in touch with the other Luciers right to the end of her life. Her only child, Father Jude, has been on leave from his Wisconsin order for many years. Perhaps he will be reassigned in the future and then we could see him. Next Hilber reunion we must remember to invite him."