Topic starter
24/03/2008 6:08 pm
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Mrs. Lucy Miller Burks Stoll, 89, on Saturday morning, March 22nd after a lengthy illness. Many on this message board know Lucy through the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen and from numerous trips aboard the DELTA QUEEN through the years. Lucy was the widow of Capt. C.W. Stoll, who died on December 10, 2001.
It was my great pleasure and privilege to have known Lucy from the time I was a teenager. She and C.W. married in 1971, C.W.'s first wife Marijane having passed on in 1969. Lucy was loved by multitudes and was always a gracious hostess to all who visited Rock Hill, the 1832 Antebellum mansion on the bluff overlooking the Ohio here at Louisville. Long remembered will be the festive parties each year after the steamboat race between the Belle and DQ.
A native of Troy / Elsberry, Missouri, Lucy was active in her Presbyterian Church, PEO, Kentucky Opera Association, The Louisville Orchestra and various other endeavors. She and C.W. enjoyed many trips abroad and kept a very full schedule of activities for many years. Lucy has been a loyal benefactor of the Howard Steamboat Museum, generously providing for the operation of the museum and its programs.
Visitation will be held at Pearson's Funeral Home, 149 Breckenridge Lane, Louisville, from 4:00 until 8:00 PM on Tuesday, with the funeral service at noon on Wednesday. The telephone number is 502-896-0349. The website is www.pearsonfuneralhome.com which contains the full obituary as well as a map and driving directions from various parts of the city.
I'm really going to miss that beautiful and classy lady with the gorgeous white hair, but I am so very thankful for the many wonderful memories of our longtime friendship which spanned nearly four decades, and for her many kindnesses. She was the epitome of elegance, but also very down-to-earth and had a wonderful sense of humor. Until we all meet again on the distant shore of a shining river, may she rest in peace.
Attached herewith, I took the first image of Lucy, with daughters Gerry Burks Swarts and Susan Burks in front of Rock Hill, in April, 2002. The middle view was taken at the museum on Sunday, October 23, 2005, at the dedication of the Capt. C.W. Stoll Memorial Bookcase and Exhibit. Judy Patsch snapped the third view on the veranda at Rock Hill in July of 2001.
25/03/2008 1:02 am
Thanks for making the Steamboat community aware of the final crossing of Lucy Stoll. She was truly an elegant, gracious woman of the old School who had many interests including Kentucky Opera. It was my great priviledge to have met her on several occasions over the course of years and to be inspired by her presence. To her daughters I express my deepest sympathy and my greatest admiration for being able to have visited with Lucy quietly, for the last time as it turns out, at S & D a couple years ago. Another era has ended for us once young wild eyed steamboaters who marveled at such folks as C.W. Stoll, Lucy and Rock Hill.
25/03/2008 3:16 am
A Rose Between Two Thorns
Imagine trying to get a word in edgewise if you were between these two gentlemen and scholars...but Lucy certainly could. And those of us present at that S&D meeting long ago will never forget her admonition to C.W. when he was talking about 'fixing' something that she didn't think needed fixing... Lucy was a treasure and will be missed...
Both pictures taken at the spring MOR meeting in Cincinnati 2001.
Topic starter
25/03/2008 11:34 am
Here are a few more photos to share that I thought would be of interest. The first is a September, 1982 view of Rock Hill, built in 1832 by New Orleans cotton broker James Hewitt. C.W. purchased the mansion in 1952. I snapped the second image of C.W. and Lucy aboard the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE while we were in McAlpine Lock in October, 1983. The third photo was taken on the BELLE very LATE just after we had arrived back in Louisville from a weekend charter trip to Madison. Lucy is chatting with Capt. Mike Fitzgerald - September, 1983.
25/03/2008 12:58 pm
My sympathy to Gerry and Susan and their families as well. I'm so sorry I won't be able to attend the visitation or the funeral due to work obligations. Lucy's lovely smile will be missed.
25/03/2008 1:44 pm
'1st MATE' Lucy Stoll:
News of the death of Lucy Stoll here from Keith, though expected, dulled the joy of the Easter weekend. My sympathy to her family and many friends who had come to know her over the years. If C.W. was the 'Captain' then Lucy certainly earned the title as '1st Mate.' Her warm, friendly manner, humor and hospitality over the years at 'Rock Hill' following the annual Louisville steamboat race celebrations will be long remembered. Boy, could Lucy ever cook! Whether in her own home or others, Lucy would dive right in, roll up her sleeves with pleasure and flashing eyes, "Where's the big baking pans?...who saw my big soup pot last?" She was one classy lady with great presence but still down-to-earth and when she took the measure of a person she was usually 100% right.
Sorry I can't attend the visitation or the funeral as I'm 'cruching the numbers' here on a big financial audit. My heart--and memories--will be there tonight and tomorrow. "Bless be the ties that bind." Many thanks to Keith for his kind and sensitive posting. We're seeing the passing of a great lady.
Cheers,
R. Dale Flick
Topic starter
25/03/2008 1:48 pm
I've been contacted by several persons who wish to make memorial contributions to the Howard Steamboat Museum. Lucy and C.W. were longtime supporters of the museum, C.W. having served on the board of directors for a number of years. Any contributions in memory of Lucy will be gratefully received. Thank you very much!
Howard Steamboat Museum
P.O. Box 606
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131-0606
www.steamboatmuseum.org
Lucy's full obituary, with color photo, is in this morning's edition of The Courier-Journal. You can access it at www.courier-journal.com. Also, if anyone wants the addresses of Lucy's daughters to send cards, please e-mail me at [email protected]
Two final photos: Both taken in June of 2003
#1 - In the River Room of the Alton (IL) Museum of History and Art with the ornate cash register from the Eagle Boat Store, St. Louis. The framed color tinted photo above the cash register is the Str. GOLDEN EAGLE.
#2 -Taken as we boarded the MARK TWAIN for a dinner cruise during a meeting of the MOR S&D Chapter. En route to Hannibal we spent a wonderful afternoon in Lucy's hometown of Elsberry to visit family and friends. It was a happy reunion and Lucy gave me a terrific tour of the little town near St. Louis where she grew up and her father was a shopkeeper.
"Precious Memories - How They Linger."
25/03/2008 2:28 pm
My deepest sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Mrs. Lucy Stoll who was always kind and friendly to me. She was a delight whenever she and C.W. were on the DELTA QUEEN, and always the genial host at her home at Rock Hill.
25/03/2008 3:43 pm
I feel very grateful to have met and known Lucy, for the very short time that I did. She was a very special lady. Sincere sympathy to Gerry and Susan and their families.
26/03/2008 3:26 am
I am sorry to hear of Ms. Lucy's passing. Somewhere in heaven I am sure that She and C. W. are taking care of a steamboat! God bless her family and friends. She was always nice to me when on the BELLE of LOUISVILLE, or the DELTA QUEEN. She will be sadly missed by me. She and C.W. always enjoyed my piano playing.