Obituary: Lucile Boedy, 1920-2024

Lucile
Hamrin Boedy, of South Burlington, Vt., died of old age from a life
well lived.

She
is the last remaining Smith of Wayne, Ill., whose ancestors left
Corinth, Vt., in 1837 to travel the Erie Canal and begin a pioneer
life on the new frontier.

Lucile
was born April 2, 1920, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Richard and Helen
(Smith) Hamrin, during the final year of Woodrow Wilson’s
presidency. When she was two, they moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where
Lucile spent the next 50 years.

She
graduated from Coe College and walked to class daily, wondering what
it would be like to live in a dorm they could ill-afford. She found
like-funded friends while eating sack lunches in the library basement
and endured their teasing of her lettuce-protruding sandwiches;
nonetheless, they remained lifelong friends. She majored in
sociology, but it was music that remained her lifelong major, and she
became a professional accompanist, played church organ and offered
private lessons.

A
beautiful woman, Lucile was off-campus candidate for homecoming queen
and had many suitors. As one left having brought ice cream, he passed
another with more. “We’ll have to get an electric icebox if this
keeps up,” her father marveled.

Lucile
met husband Elmer during an MYF event at church. Dating others soon
fell away to only Elmer, until WWII separated them. “What do you
like in him more than others?” questioned her mother. “He is so
much fun to be with,” was Lucile’s reply. “Well, there are
other things in life besides fun.” Mother was right, and the young
couple combined them all. They married in 1945, with a nervous groom
finishing the reception holding only tea. They moved to Ames, Iowa,
for four years and then settled in Cedar Rapids for the next 23
years.

She
and her husband raised and loved three sons. She is survived by her
sons and their spouses: David, (Susan), (Valerie), of Burlington,
Vt., Randy (Sharon), of Somerset, Ky., Richard (Kathy), of Gulf
Shores, Ala.; her granddaughter, Jennifer, and great-granddaughter,
Sarah, of Irvine, Calif.

Lucile
introduced her sons to family camping, hiking and fishing, which they
continue to this day. They introduced her to scouting, large bull
snakes in her car’s trunk, the challenge of training raccoons and
the pleasure of juggling piano lessons with homemade meal
preparation.

When
the space industry compressed, the family moved to Lyndhurst, Ohio.
The couple retired and traveled extensively throughout the world,
with friends and church and Elderhostel programs.

After
Elmer’s passing, Lucile provided a warm, welcoming place to stay for
guests with hospitalized family members through Hospitality Homes.
Her guests provided Lucile with wonderful stories of life back home,
in both this country and from others. Several maintain contact to
this day. She remained active in her local church; leading a
faith-filled life was important to Lucile.

In
2008, at the urging of her sons, she sold her home of 39 years. She
packed her trunk with canned food too precious to throw out, insisted
on driving herself through a Cleveland snowstorm for the first hour
in her Buick—now sporting a customized, lowered rear hot-rod
look—and headed to Vermont. She loved her new apartment at
Harborview in South Burlington, Vt., and appreciated the other
vibrant women and men who accepted support while maintaining their
independence.

Special
thanks must be made of her relationship with Fran Sheridan. Together,
they gave each other love and joy neither had thought possible after
losing their spouses. Lucile transferred her P.E.O. membership to
Chapter C and joined other women in celebrating, educating and
motivating the lives of women worldwide.

Even
as memory loss nibbled at Lucile’s freedom, she maintained her
graciousness, curiosity and cheerfulness with those around her. Her
family is grateful for the care and stimulation she received in her
last three years from the memory unit staff of Gardenview at the
Converse Home.

Lucile
will be interred with her husband and ancestors at Little Woods
Cemetery in Wayne, Ill.

A
service of remembrance will be held on zoom and at St. Paul’s
Cathedral, 2 Cherry St, Burlington, Vt., on May 9, at 11 a.m.,
followed by a buffet linch.

This article appears in The Animal Issue 2024.