Lucile M. Drum

Lucile, 90, passed away on July 7, 2012. Daughter of Robert R. and Elvaree (Franklin) Porter. Preceded in death by her husband, Robert C. Drum. Survived by her two sons, Lloyd and Robert ""Bob"" Drum; sister, Louise Schmidt; and other extended family members. Memorial Service will be Saturday, June 14, 2012 at 2 PM, Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 9998 Grant Street, Thornton. Please share your memories of Lucile and condolences with her family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" button below. **************************************************** The Life of Lucile Drum Dec. 5, 1921 – July 7, 2012 Lucile ""Lucy"" Porter Drum was born on December 5, 1921 in Russell Springs, Kentucky. Her mother was Elvaree Franklin Porter and her dad was Robert Porter. Elvaree and Robert were farmers and ""Lucy"" was their first child. Lucy was a beautiful blue eyed child with blond hair which later turned brown. Her dad loved farming and after returning from World War I decided to move his young family to Saybrook, Illinois. Lucy was very young then; but remembered until her dying days how much she hated leaving her ""Old Kentucky Home"". In fact, she would often regale her sons with this song over and over again even after she had begun to lose her memory in her last years. Her sons Lloyd and Bob were to remain amused and amazed their whole lives by Lucile's ability to suddenly recite some little song or poem without missing a word. The Porters left Russell Springs full of hope; but there was a dark cloud hanging over their lives. Robert Porter had contracted tuberculosis in the war and he passed away at the age of 33. Lucy was eight years old when he died and she longed for him her whole life. Lucy's sister Louise related a funny story from Lucy's childhood with her Dad. Her Dad was would cuss from time to time, and one day he caught the 2 year old Lucy picking up some poop off the ground. He began to scold her for this and Lucy said, ""You Go to Hell Daddy."" Lucy's Mom then scolded him with, ""What do you expect?"" Of course the whole thing became a joke for retelling over and over. Elvaree Porter had 5 children with Robert Porter…Lucile, Peggy, Louise, Robert Lee, and Carl. When Robert Porter died she married Bob Garret and six Garret kids were added to the family. Joyce, Floyd, Rollin, John, Edna and Sharon Garrett joined the Porter kids and created a family that was to end up being dispersed all over the United States. Lucy being Elvaree's first child became a second mother to these kids and that set a pattern for her life. She was a neat freak and she made her brothers and sister toe the line around the house. Even many years later when she was in her early eighties she couldn't resist tidying up her boys homes when she came to visit. Lucile grew up in Saybrook and graduated from Saybrook High School as the Salutatorian in 1941. She then went to college for a year and a half. She taught Sunday school and then for a short while taught grades 1 thru 8 in a one room school house. Lucy was a slender sweet natured young woman and had difficulty controlling the unruly 8th graders. When the school officials called her into their office to reprimand her for not maintaining control she uncharacteristically got her dander up and told them off, ""If their parents had taught their damned brats some manners there wouldn't be any problems."" She then turned and walked out and never came back. (Good for you Momma.) She was a beautiful young woman with a sly sense of humor and a sweetness of nature that was to become her dominate characteristic. Boys began to notice Lucy and a darkly handsome young man with an impish sense of hummer won her heart. Robert Cecil Drum was a World War II veteran who had flown 53 missions as a top gunner on a B-17. Robert was the adopted son of Maude and Lloyd Drum. Bob and Lucile fell in love and were married in 1946. Eventually they ended up working together at State Farm Insurance for the next 35 years. They had two sons; Lloyd who was born in 1947 and Robert who was born in 1949. State Farm Insurance was to chart a course for their lives as they moved from the Bloomington, Illinois office to Birmingham, Alabama and then to Monroe, Louisiana. Happy years went by as they raised their children and bought their homes and enjoyed the American dream. Lucile was a loving mother who lived for her children and her husband. She worked every day and came home to cook the meals, clean the house and handle the rambunctious demands of her children. Lucy never minded any of this. This was the life she wanted. Giving and receiving love nourished her and made all the hard work worthwhile. The years went by. Her sons grew up into their own lives. Her husband Bob loved her more and more and they would eventually re-affirm their wedding vows. One day his heart gave out and he left Lucile a widow in her sixties. She lived on without her beloved husband until her death at 90. She lived on; but not alone. She had earned so much love from her two boys that they stayed in her life year after year returning the love she given them. In her mid-eighties her body began to betray her. Strokes and vascular dementia robbed her of her memory and her ability to speak or chew or swallow her food. As her frustrations grew she never lost her sweetness of nature. Her sons Robert and Lloyd took her in and made her the center of her lives as she had done for them. They went to movies together and ate out together. They did everything together. The bond between them grew until her life was their life. Finally there was nothing more they could do. Her little body had shrunk to just 60 lbs. and she passed away at age 90 on July 7, 2012. Upon her passing her sister Louise wrote these words…""If Lucy isn't in heaven then none of us will be. She is one of God's angels! No kinder, sweeter lady ever existed."" The extraordinary thing about those words is not their eloquence; but the fact that everyone felt the same about Lucy. That is her legacy. If it could be bottled and sprinkled on the souls of every human being; heaven wouldn't have to wait for death. It would be here on earth. (I'm her son Lloyd Drum. I wrote this biography. I can see my mother now pushing her walker laboriously from her bedroom to the bathroom over and over as she neared the end. Along the way she would always stop to wave to us or throw us a kiss…even to the end. My brother Bob and I will love her forever.) My Remembrances of Mom by Robert Drum Mom was born in Russell Springs Kentucky and whenever she mentioned it she liked to sing ""My Old Kentucky Home"" Then she would say that the home was all torn down now. Her mother later told her that she had cried all the way on the train from Kentucky to their new home in Illinois. In Saybrook, Illinois Mom grew up on a farm and graduated from Saybrook High School and attended College for a few years. She briefly taught a Sunday school class. I bet she was perfect in that job. She started work at State Farm Insurance, a company she would work at for the rest of her working life. Love would find mom in the form of Robert C. Drum in Illinois. A few years later Lloyd and Bobby were born. These three would become the center of her universe. Mom was shy, sweet, and quiet. She devoted her life to her husband and children to the day she died. Eventually Robert and Lucile would pack their bags, bundle up their children and move to Birmingham, Alabama. Mom loved to go to the movies while Dad didn't seem interested. So, come the weekends Mom would get her kids and walk or ride the bus to go see movies. I remember her once taking me, her youngest, to see a romantic movie. I pitched a fit and kept demanding that someone change the channel. Finally poor mom had to leave the theater as I would not quit loudly demanding that the channel be changed. Typical of Mom, she didn't yell at me or show her anger or disappointment. She kindly tried to calm me and went on home. When Mom and Dad moved to Monroe, Louisiana, she finally got a wonderful neighborhood for her. Only two blocks away was an indoor mall with a movie theater. Since mom did not know how to drive, she could now walk to shop and see movies. Life would go well for Mom for many years in Monroe. Her sons lived nearby and she seemed to be enjoying life; but as life always moves along in unexpected ways, her husband Bob had a heart attack. He did not die; but took early retirement. This gave Mom and Dad several years of retirement together and Dad actually went to a movie with Mom. A few years later Dad died from another heart attack and Mom lived alone for many years with visits from her sons as her link to the world. Mom never got tired of telling us little stories that made her laugh her whole life long. She had a cousin named Orville Dean Ware. Every time he would meet someone he would tell them, ""My name is Orville Dean and I am mean."" Another little neighborhood boy when asked what his mother was doing said, ""My mother workee. She wash the dish."" Mom would laugh every time she told these stories even as we would roll our eyes. I also learned more about Mom while in Monroe. For the first time ever Mom opened up to me about how sick she was getting because of a new supervisor at work. She said no one liked the woman and she didn't either. Unfortunately, Mom was typically so sweet and kind to people the supervisor liked her so much she ate lunch with Mom every day. She thought Mom was her only friend! Of course Mom could not bring herself to tell the woman that she did not like her; so, she had to continue to be the woman's only friend. After Dad's death Mom moved to Colorado to be with her oldest son Lloyd. Life would bless her again as she was able to live near her sister Louise and they could take walks together. Eventually I moved nearby as well; so, Mom had everything that was important to her which was family within a short walk away. Unfortunately, again life's blessings come and go. Mom had a stroke and developed vascular dementia which started taking away her memory. No longer able to live alone; she had to move in with her sons. This living situation again brought Mom some blessings she so deserved. Now she could go to movies and go out to dinner every weekend; and her son Bobby never once threw a fit to make her leave the movie early. She got to see her sons every day which was what she most loved in life. Mom's dementia continued to get worse and another stroke caused dysphasia which made it hard to swallow food. Eventually she shrank to just 60lbs and passed away. Now her two sons are without the blessing of sharing their lives with her. They can only hope that new blessings will come into their lives to ease the pain of her parting.