Lucile Ritchey

Lucile Ritchey, 102, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 .

Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m.  Friday, March 9, 2018, at Biggers Funeral Home.

Celebration of Life: 10 a.m. Saturday, March 10, 2018, at Northwest Bible Church , 5025 Jacksboro Highway, Fort Worth, TX 76114, with Reverend Daniel Pinto presiding.

Graveside Service: will be held at Chillicothe Cemetery, with Reverend Forest “Woody” Saylor presiding.

Mother was born in Kenefic, Oklahoma in a tiny cotton farming community near Durant on September 2, 1915. She was a preemie baby, the third of seven children. In 1929, during the great stock market crash, Mother and her early family of six, out of duress, made a TREK of almost 200 miles by a mule drawn open farm wagon on rough barren road (Highway 82 now) to Chillicothe, Texas to begin a new life. The trip took approximately 22 days. They quickly went to work as share croppers on Mr.Pattons’ farms and in late fall enrolled in the brand new WPA built Kings High School with a gymnasium. Mother was a star volleyball and basketball player and enjoyed the student assemblies where they quoted the American Creed, Pledge of Allegiance, read scripture and sang the National Anthem several times each week. This layed the foundation for her love of God, love for her country, and strong patriotism for the rest of her life. One day in about her tenth-grade year, she saw a handsome young man get out of a new Model T car and go to drive a school bus. After courtship they married in 1932 and moved in with family, as was the custom, to start their own family. With three children, they later moved to the Baker place on FM road 1167 and Highway 287 complete with a root cellar to hide from the tornados and black blizzards. Ironically, that was the same farm house Mother lived as a teenager with her parents. But the deepening Great Depression, black blizzards and World War II rationing made day to day living impossible. Then in 1942, a near miracle happened when the government sent recruiters to the farming community and offered Daddy a full time paying job at the bomber plant in Fort Worth, Texas building B-24s. After earning his training certificates he returned to the Baker farm house to get his young family with a job offer and certificates in hand. Somehow, he and Mother bargained for an old 1928 ragtop Chevy coupe for the trip to Fort Worth. After a sorrowful family parting, mother was now alone from family and friends for the first time in her life. She helped pack what she could take in the small car with a trunk on the right fender and with three children in the back seat like three teddy bears, we were off to a new life. Crossing the Lake Worth Bridge and seeing the huge lake the next day was a wonder for us and mother because it was such a stark contrast to the parched land of West Texas. We took a hard right onto Foster Drive and pulled up to a tiny cottage. Mother soon discovered we had critters living inside with us and it had a balky kerosene kitchen stove. Mother was having none of that, so she put on her walking shoes and soon met Mrs. Fletcher who had rent houses, and yes, she had one for rent. Soon we lived in a small three bedroom house, with an inside bathroom, coal burning stove in the living room and a small kitchen. She raised her family at Route 2 Box 402 on Malta Dr. until we graduated and went to the four corners of the earth. Then, her life started. She already worked at a fireworks plant across the street which moved to Azle and when it finished she used her hands and mind to make printed circuit boards and that faltered as well. She had always wanted a job that would pay her social security and had a government pension so she could be self-sufficient. In 1965, she and a friend, Robin, showed up at the front desk in the Federal building downtown and said, “we want a job”, the man said, “have you taken the test?”, “what test?”, “you need to take a test before you fill out the application.” They both failed. The man saw the sadness in their eyes and said “here, study this material and come back later for another test”. She passed, and began a long career at General Services Administration retiring in 1992 running a printing press and a bindery machine building supersized bidding packages for the Corps of Engineers. Her retirement ceremony was attended by all her co-workers and several officials from the Washington D.C. GSA office. After their accolades, mother stood to speak with nary a note to this prestigious group in a resplendent red, white and blue dress and perfectly matching red, white and blue shoes. The room was quiet as she told them her life story and encouraged them to set goals, believe in the Lord, do the right thing, and above all believe in our God and country. She recited every life goal she had set from early childhood to the job interview at the Federal Building. Now she had other goals in life which were important as well and she listed them one by one. She thanked everyone by name, which was one of her trademarks, and finished the speech smoothly. After the 10-15 minute speech, there was a slight pause from the audience, then they stood as one in wonderful applause, and then the officials and co-workers surrounded her like a movie star with hugs, official pictures and best wishes and excitement about her speech. You could see the affirmation in her eyes and the joy in knowing it was all worth it. Mother’s greatest goal was to finish her education.

First, in 1965 she earned her GED at TCJC while working and schooling at night. Her professors saw great pride in her scholarship and persistence and persuaded her to continue toward her ultimate goal of a diploma from college. After years of tiring days and nights she completed all the courses for a diploma in marketing and in Programming. Our proud Mother sent invitations to her graduation in the summer of 1982. There was a large contingent of our family there in the balcony at Will Rogers Auditorium that day. By the time they called her name a large part of the audience around us joined in the noise. Mother walked across the stage with the stature of a president, so proud of her accomplishment. Professors on the stage sensed the enormity of the moment for her and stood hugging her as she headed toward the Dean of the college on the other side of the stage. As she neared the other side of the stage, the Dean bowed deeply with her diploma, one of the proudest moments of her life. Not a few tears were shed for Mother and Mamaw that day, because we knew what she knew. She had just met her utmost dream. Then we went outside and took graduation pictures hardly able to hold in our pride for our Mother and Mamaw. One of Mother’s other goals was to travel .and that she did, Alone and unafraid, she rode Greyhound buses to Lake of the Woods, Minn., flew overseas to Quito Ecuador to the missions fields, to ranches in Colorado and traveled by car to put her feet in the great ocean tide of the Pacific and countless other adventures. One trip close to her heart was a return trip to Kenefic, Oklahoma with her two sisters. She treasured a picture of them standing at a small Kenefic city sign by the rail road crossing and the cotton gin. These held a place in her heart and on her mantle.

She loved to plant flowers to make her home beautiful, go to church on Sundays at Northwest Bible Church, drive anywhere she wanted and buy all the groceries she might ever possibly need. Mother loved the youth of her church and her church pew friends. She supported the youth for VBS, Youth camps and in numerous other ways. In return ,the youth would fill mothers’ living room every Christmas and birthdays and sing to her delight as she kept the beat and sang along in her smooth alto. She loved the old hymns of the church and knew them by heart and could sing the notes and the words at 102 years. Later, those same youth came to her Willow Park Care Center and would place mother out in front of them and sing anything she wanted to hear and of course she sang all the words and kept the beat to the delight of everyone. Thank you, Dr.Pinto and Faith and the youth of Northwest Bible Church for your sweet visits.

Mother was privileged to live in her home in paradise until 102 years old when she transitioned to the Willow Park Care Center under the wonderful care of Johanna Ritchey, Director of nursing and her sweet caring staff. She received the finest care possible, but most importantly, she received daily care and love from staffers who truly loved her and provided her safety and security, a sense of well-being, and who gave her great respect. Thank you to the great staff at Willow Park Care Center! We would also like to thank her primary care doctor, Dr. Michael Adamo D. O. for over 35 years of loving healthcare. Dr.Adamo , you are special to our family.

John 14:1,2,3
“Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, also believe in Me. In my Fathers’ house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare for you, I will come again and receive you to My Self, that where I am you will be also.” John 14: 1,2,3
Mother, we love you. We will meet you at the Eastern Gate, and this time we will all be on time!

Survivors: Brothers, Paul Glosson, of Quanah, Texas and Dale Glosson of Wichita Falls; children, Jerry Ritchey and spouse, Betty, Jack Ritchey and spouse, Velma. Reatha Ritchey Saylor and spouse, Forest “Woody”; grandchildren, Brian Ritchey, Teresa Ritchey Heatherly, Steve Saylor, Kin Anderson, Jerry Ritchey Jr, Ginger Ritchey, Jason Ritchey; numerous great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchild; numerous grand nieces and grand-nephews.