Jeanette Lucas' Obituary
Jeanette Lucas Obituary
Jeanette C. Lucas was born on May 11, 1922 to the union of Minnie Carter Thomas and George Thomas in Metcalfe, Mississippi. She is remembered as a woman of integrity, courage, and humor.
Jeanette lost her father months before she was born and was raised by her widowed mother and grandparents. She received Christ at an early age and grew up in St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, where her grandfather, Rev. Thomas Carter was founder and pastor.
She attended elementary and high school in Greenville. Mississippi. Her first job was a pastry cook in a local restaurant. Jeanette met and married her first husband, Charles Rivers, in Cleveland, Mississippi. To this union was born Eugene, Brenda, and Leon.
She relocated to the Chicago area in the early 1950's in a wave of African American migrations from the south. Motives varied among those who moved, but hers stemmed from a firm determination to better her children's educational prospects. It was in Chicago that she met her second husband, Samuel Lucas. To this union was born Debra and Ronald. Together, they blended a family.
Jeanette was a lifelong learner, and returned to school to earn a nursing certificate after her youngest child entered high school. Upon her arrival in Chicago, Jeanette joined St. Andrews Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir. After a number of years, she transfered her membership to St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she became a member of the Progressive Matrons, and participated enthusiastically in their Annual Calendar Drive. In her later years, she became a stewardess and eventually served proudly as a deaconess.
At home, Jeanette sang gospel music and spirituals, but her expansive eclectic musical tastes included Brook Benton and The Beatles. She was an accomplished seamstress and excellent cook who loved to entertain. Jeanette also enjoyed gardening, and was active within her neighborhood's block club. She was a caring grandmother who gave generously of her time.
Collectively, Sam and Jeanette raised nine children, Eugene (deceased), Brenda (George), Leon, Debra (Ronald), Ronald (Audrey), Charles (deceased), Elmertha, Minnie (deceased), and Julius (deceased). She has ten grandchildren, Devonna, Sherard, Landon, Ronald Louis, Bernard, Ronald Robert, Erin, Latrice, Lauren, and Grace. She has thirteen step-grandchildren, Vivian, Sharlene, Rita, Michelle, Genevieve, Charles Jr., Carmen, Cynthia, Charles Earl, Paul, Yvonne, Kirk, and Scott. Twenty-nine great grandchildren continue her legacy.
She was kind and generous, but she was also fearless. She had an inner strength and an assurance born of a personal and intimate relationship with her God. She never cared for things but she truly loved people. She lived her life abundantly and would encourage us to do the same.
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