The Rev. Fr. Ralph Thomas visits Lucy Golding on her birthdayHow can you put all the life adventures of Lucy Golding in one story?
Last Wednesday she left her home in Tampa to return to the Akron area and it’s been a celebration ever since. The Rev. Fr. Ralph Thomas made a special visit to her daughter’s home in Green on Friday (January 7) to bring her communion and a blessing on her 101st birthday. There was a big family dinner on Saturday. She probably won’t be able to attend, but parishioners at St. Paul Church will sing “Happy Birthday” for her anyway at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday.
Asked the usual question by birthday visitors Friday about her longevity, she said:
“You try not to worry. Something you worry about usually never happens. Some things you don’t worry about just happen.”
Lucy has been a mother, school teacher, waitress and you might say jet setter. Back in the 1950s she was a waitress at the Portage Hotel and then the Mayflower. She drove until she was 90 years old. She has been in every state except Alaska and
 |
| Rosemarie, Dean and Carol with Lucy |
toured Germany, Austria, Italy and Nova Scotia with her husband. She remembers the first telephones where the operator asked “number please” and “you didn’t use them just to talk. It had to be something important.” She remembers the early cars including the Maxwell, manufactured from 1920 to 1925.
She has been an avid reader but her joy seems to be with items created with her hands. She makes a Christmas stocking for each new descendant. Afghans, quilts, bedspreads, dolls, crocheted hats and other items are a work of love.
One of her craft items deserves a story of its own. Lucy uses stiff dress netting to crochet into scrubbers used for everything from dishwashing to cleaning everything from car tires to silverware. She starts with netting 8 feet by 8 feet and keeps folding and folding it until it is four inches wide. It is then cut into strips and crocheted into 43 almost indestructible scrubbers. She has made 500 of them in a six-month period. They have been distributed in Saudi Arabia and many other countries
She has been an avid reader but her joy seems to be with items created with her hands. She makes a Christmas stocking for each new descendant. Afghans, quilts, bedspreads, dolls, crocheted hats and other items are a work of love.
One of her craft items deserves a story of its own. Lucy uses stiff dress netting to crochet into scrubbers used for everything from dishwashing to cleaning everything from car tires to silverware. She starts with netting 8 feet by 8 feet and keeps folding and folding it until it is four inches wide. It is then cut into strips and crocheted into 43 almost indestructible scrubbers. She has made 500 of them in a six-month period. They have been distributed in Saudi Arabia and many other countries
Lucille was born January 7, 1910 at Chelsea in Tama County, Iowa, the daughter of John Stanek and Julia Vavra. She is listed in the 1910 census with her parents, John W., age 34, and Julia, age 26 as a child 4 months old along with an other sister, Libby, age 5. A brother, Louis, died as a child. Her sisters were Elizabeth or “Libby” Zeman and Leona Barker. Grandparents Frank and Mary Stanek were from Czechoslovakia.
Lucy’s father died at age 88 on May 24, 1964 and her mother Julia died at the age of 96 on May 17, 1980.
Lucy went to the University of Iowa Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and taught all grades for a number of years
Lucy was married in Chelsea, Iowa, at the age of 21 on August 25, 1931 to Donald J. Hrabak, son of Joseph W. Hrabak and Fannie Kucera of Belle Plaine, Iowa. The Hrabak family operated a lumber company and funeral home in Tama County.
Lucille’s first child, Frances, died in a flood at the age of 11.
Dean lives in Tampa, Florida, and accompanied his mother here on the flight from Tampa.
Joan is married to Bob Willenborg and lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Carol is married to Dick Coughlin and lives in Firestone Park. She is a dedicated eucharistic minister at St. Paul.
Rosemarie is married to Dave Pudoka and lives in Green.
Lucy will be making her home permanently with the Pudokas.
Lucy was married to Hrabak for 20 years, but they separated because he had a drinking problem.
Bob Golding entered Lucille’s life and they were married on July 20, 1950 in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois. In 1952 the family moved to Akron. Dean was in the Marines at the time. Golding was a welder and machinist and later a construction supervisor for Grant’s department store and Red Lobster. Bob suffered severe burns when a motel he was staying at near a construction site caught fire.
Bob and Lucy moved to Atlanta in 1963 and stayed there for three years before moving to Tampa in 1969. They spent Summer months in Reno, Nevada. She was married to Golding for 43 years.
Her first husband died October 1, 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the age of 71.
Golding died May 23, 1998 in Reno, Nevada at the age of 72.
Lucy had sisters Leona and Libbie, brother Leonard, son Dean, daughters Frances, Joan, Carol and Rosemarie, granddaughters Laura, Frances and Stephanie, grandsons Bobby, Chris, Dean, Danny, Joe, Darren and Dennis, great granddaughters Christyale, Samantha, Raitchel, Katie, Maria, Taylor and Brooke; great-grandsons Tod, Jon, Dusty, Donaven and Joey and great-great-grandsons Elliot Jr. and Draven and three son-in-laws.
Many attended her 100th birthday celebration in Tampa. The Rev. Fr. Gerald Zeman, her sister’s son, had a Mass said for her. He was ordained in June, 1963 but is now retired.
And that is just a little bit of her story.
Lucy’s father died at age 88 on May 24, 1964 and her mother Julia died at the age of 96 on May 17, 1980.
Lucy went to the University of Iowa Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and taught all grades for a number of years
Lucy was married in Chelsea, Iowa, at the age of 21 on August 25, 1931 to Donald J. Hrabak, son of Joseph W. Hrabak and Fannie Kucera of Belle Plaine, Iowa. The Hrabak family operated a lumber company and funeral home in Tama County.
Lucille’s first child, Frances, died in a flood at the age of 11.
Dean lives in Tampa, Florida, and accompanied his mother here on the flight from Tampa.
Joan is married to Bob Willenborg and lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Carol is married to Dick Coughlin and lives in Firestone Park. She is a dedicated eucharistic minister at St. Paul.
Rosemarie is married to Dave Pudoka and lives in Green.
Lucy will be making her home permanently with the Pudokas.
Lucy was married to Hrabak for 20 years, but they separated because he had a drinking problem.
Bob Golding entered Lucille’s life and they were married on July 20, 1950 in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois. In 1952 the family moved to Akron. Dean was in the Marines at the time. Golding was a welder and machinist and later a construction supervisor for Grant’s department store and Red Lobster. Bob suffered severe burns when a motel he was staying at near a construction site caught fire.
Bob and Lucy moved to Atlanta in 1963 and stayed there for three years before moving to Tampa in 1969. They spent Summer months in Reno, Nevada. She was married to Golding for 43 years.
Her first husband died October 1, 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the age of 71.
Golding died May 23, 1998 in Reno, Nevada at the age of 72.
Lucy had sisters Leona and Libbie, brother Leonard, son Dean, daughters Frances, Joan, Carol and Rosemarie, granddaughters Laura, Frances and Stephanie, grandsons Bobby, Chris, Dean, Danny, Joe, Darren and Dennis, great granddaughters Christyale, Samantha, Raitchel, Katie, Maria, Taylor and Brooke; great-grandsons Tod, Jon, Dusty, Donaven and Joey and great-great-grandsons Elliot Jr. and Draven and three son-in-laws.
Many attended her 100th birthday celebration in Tampa. The Rev. Fr. Gerald Zeman, her sister’s son, had a Mass said for her. He was ordained in June, 1963 but is now retired.
And that is just a little bit of her story.
See an album of photos
0 comments:
Post a Comment