Adapted by Elaine from Lucille's Memoirs:

 

On April 19, 1923, in Toledo, Ohio, Rose and Jack Shea had their fourth child, Lucille Katherine. Lucille's mother, Rose, survived tuberculosis (TB) after spending several months in a cure center, leaving three year old Lucille home with their father and the older children, Tom, Billy, and Helen. Little Lucille was comforted by her brother Billy, whose letters reminded their mother to write to her even though she couldn't read. When Rose returned home she slept outside on an upstairs back porch to keep her lungs cold, the treatment for TB at that time. In later years she kept an inhaler on hand for the asthma that probably resulted from the TB. She made beautiful things for their home, like their hand-made lace tablecloth and needlepoint chair covers. She had a keen mind, and loved to compete playing bridge. 

 

During the Great Depression in the 1030's, Jack Shea rented out their house and leased a chicken farm. He said that whether he could make a go of it or not, at least he'd be able to feed his family on chicken. The farm came with a dog, Lucille's beloved Shep. Lucille talked about the day her mother informed her dad that he should kiss her hello before receiving Shep's welcoming kisses (not after!)  Jack had started work in a factory around age 12, and worked as a telegraph operator, relaying names of survivors of the Titanic sinking. He worked as a railroad signal operator, and in retirement as a television repair man with variety of vacuum tubes on hand in his basement workshop. He read widely, educated himself all his life, and was an able competitor at bridge.

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Lucille graduated from St. Ursula Academy, a catholic girl's high school in Toledo. She talked about a wild day in school when she rolled her knee socks all the way down to her ankles, and then to avoid being seen by the nuns, jumped out the window. She was conscious of following in the footsteps of her brilliant older sister Helen at St. Ursula's. She described Helen's help with her adolescent transitions, and shared her love of playing piano and singing.

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At University of Nevada, Reno, she graduated with majors in both Chemistry and English, and a minor in French. A memoir from that time of her life, was called "How I Met the Hunk." It tells of her introduction to Lieutenant T. Paul Sullivan, by their mothers, on the steps of their church after Mass. When he was away at war he sent her photo of his handsome grin with his Jeep named Lucille, her name proudly painted on the windshield. She introduced to Paul to her brother Tom when both were in Guam. Tom approved Paul's Catholicism, and both enjoyed a hike and unauthorized target practice in the jungle.

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After graduating college she lived in New York City with her longtime friend, Mildred Greunenfelder. She found administrative work in an office with a view of the harbor from very high up. They reveled in the big city culture, and Lucille kept a scrapbook of the events they enjoyed, and some faded snapshots of big troop ships coming into the harbor as the war was nearing its end.

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Paul returned from the war unharmed, and resumed studying for his electrical engineering degree at University of Nevada. He asked Lucille to apply for a teaching job there, so they could live near each other. She was surprised to be hired at the age of 22 to teach English Composition. One of Paul's classmates was impressed that he was dating a professor, and asked, "How much older is she?" 

 

Lucille and Paul married on August 9, 1947, and then lived in student housing. When asked about their shabby quarters, "Can you hear the neighbors talk?" they answered, "You can hear them chew."  She described Paul quieting their first baby, Laura, by jiggling her with his right arm, pacing the floor, and studying a textbook held in his left hand. During their years in Reno Lucille got to know and love the Sullivan family, and has written memoir portraits of them.

 

They moved to Erie, PA, for Paul's first engineering job, at GE He explained that it was the job closest to Lucille's family, now all in Toledo.

There they had the rest of their 5 kids after Laura:  Elaine, Tim, Joe, and Mary Rose. Lucille sang along with the Texaco opera broadcast on Saturday mornngs, and sang along to My Fair Lady with Paul while they put up wallpaper. She relaxed by playing the upright grand piano passed down to her by her neighbor and volunteer grandmother, Tula Jenkins. They enjoyed the beaches on Lake Erie, and picnics with friends. The family of seven took bike rides on shady streets, wobbling in a line like ducklings. 

 

Her memoir, 'CF Part 1,' describes Timmy's digestive & respiratory problems - mysterious and severe, and the difficult years leading to his correct diagnosis and treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. Their dedicated care helped him to live to be ten and a half, beating the odds of a child with CF at that time. She hung a photographer's portrait of him on the dining room wall near photos of his four grandparents. She talked about learning not to mention her brother, Billy, after he died in high school, because it could make her father cry. She said she was determined to help her children feel free to talk about Timmy. Her memoir, CF Part 2 tells of founding the CF Association for mutual support of CF families in Erie. It names the wonderful people who made it work, and became lifetime friends. Her initiative led to many families and orphans receiving help and helping each other.  [Read more about Lucille and Paul founding the CF Association in the Erie Reader.]

 

In a meeting of St. Andrews church Christian Family Movement, a young husband declared, "No wife of mine is going to work!" Lucille gently explained that his wife had the same education he had, and as much intelligence, and so had the same need to be engaged in the world. After Timmy died in January, 1964, a terrible hollow was left in her days. She said that Paul "practically pushed me out of the house," back to school, for high school teaching certification. She taught English, chemistry, and general science in high schools in Erie and then in Burnt Hills, NY. Years later she taught word processing for young women needing job skills, using the new technology, WordStar on Radio Shack's TRS-80 computer. She served on the International committee of the AAUW in Schenectady, and also worked as a contract writer for a GE project.

 

Lucille and Paul needed to buy a house when Paul's job changed to GE in Schenectady, NY. Joe stayed in Erie where he worked for GE as a welder. Elaine was teaching in a Montessori preschool in Niagara Falls, NY. Laura was married, and living in Florida. After looking at many cozy homes suitable for a couple, Lucille and Paul chose a four bedroom house in Clifton Park, with a large yard where they hosted visits from their children and grandchildren. They often visited Laura and Mary Rose who then lived in Sacramento, Joe in Erie, and Elaine, later near Boston. They provided a setting for their children to keep in touch and formed close ties with all of their grandchildren. Laura's children are Chris, Reba and Tim McKinney. Elaine's sons are Michael and Noah Partridge. Joe's children are Tim, Abby, Stefan and Nate Sullivan. Mary Rose's daughter is Emma Powell.

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Lucille cared for Paul during years of gradually worsening dementia, spinal stenosis, and then treatments for bone marrow failure. She monitored his diet to balance blood thinners, gave him injections, and kept his treatment team in sync with each other. Friends from their Walk and Talk group, Norm and Ruth Debelius, visited weekly to give her time to run errands. Other friends from her Crafting Group helped as well. During this time, Laura began to lose her ten year battle with cancer. She died in May of 2004 in the home she shared with two of her adult children. Seven months later Paul died, in hospice care in a skilled nursing facility; with Mary Rose, Joe and Elaine all present. A loving friend, June Smith, one of the early volunteers establishing the CF Association of Erie, stayed with Lucille for a week after the funeral and visiting were over, easing her transition to living alone. Lucille began to split her years between Clifton Park summers and Sacramento winters, where Mary Rose found her a pleasant house to rent nearby. After a few disasters with ice in her unattended Clifton Park home, she moved to Sacramento full time. 

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Ten years later, on June 12, 2020, she took her last breath in the home she shared with Joe and his wife, Laura, while they and Mary Rose were at her side. Their care saved her from the isolation that assisted living or skilled nursing care would have meant in 2020, and her life ended in accord with her wishes as much as it possibly could have.