Lucy Kathryn Brothers, 92, of Joplin, Missouri and formerly of Chicago, Illinois, passed away on January 6, 2020 with her family members by her side. She was born on April 9, 1927, to Ivan and Martha Plesha Ladisich. Lucy had attended grade school and graduated from Bowen High School in Chicago, Illinois. Lucy was a registered nurse in the U.S. Army.
Lucy was preceded in death by her husband Larry, (Jan. 2015), 4 sisters Katherine Wedryk, Mary Ladisich, Anne Mullins, and Rose Ladisich, and 1 brother, Tony Ladisich.
She is survived by her 2 sons Dan (Teresa) and Larry (Rosie), and 4 daughters Patricia Roam (Chuck), Janet Parrish (Dennis), Beverly Rouse (Stewart) and Diane McKinney (Jim). She had a great life as a devout Catholic, her loving husband of 64 years, a mother of 6 children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and 3 great great grandchildren.
After graduating from high school Lucy received her nurses training at Michael Reece Hospital in Chicago, graduating in 1949. She immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army and had advanced as a 1st Lieutenant in the Korean Conflict. She was stationed stateside as an army nurse in the U.S. Army Nurses Corp. Before finishing her time as an army officer, she married Lawrence M. Brothers on January 9, 1951 at Ft. Campbell Kentucky.
In 1951, Larry and Lucy settled in Joplin, Missouri and Larry began his optometric practice in 1951. One special love Larry and Lucy had before/after Larry had retired was providing free eyecare for the impoverished people of Mexico, Peru, Central America and Africa through a program called (VOSH) Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity. Larry and Lucy served on 24 missions together in 22 years.
While they owned 40 acres in town, any spare time they had would involve raising cattle, horses and chickens. They always had an awesome family garden where a lot of hard labor and sweat was just part of life growing up on the farm resulting in canning food for a growing family. They always had pets around especially their favorite family dog named Laddie.
Larry and Lucy enjoyed camping, fishing and boating in their spare time on the area lakes especially Beaver Lake in Arkansas where they owned a cabin. They had spent many weekends pulling skiers around the lake, fishing, and barbequing before returning home after a busy weekend.
After graduating from high school Lucy received her nurses training at Michael Reece Hospital in Chicago, graduating in 1949. She immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army and had advanced as a 1st Lieutenant in the Korean Conflict. She was stationed stateside as an army nurse in the U.S. Army Nurses Corp. Before finishing her time as an army officer, she married Lawrence M. Brothers on January 9, 1951 at Ft. Campbell Kentucky.
In 1951, Larry and Lucy settled in Joplin, Missouri and Larry began his optometric practice in 1951. One special love Larry and Lucy had before/after Larry had retired was providing free eyecare for the impoverished people of Mexico, Peru, Central America and Africa through a program called (VOSH) Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity. Larry and Lucy served on 24 missions together in 22 years.
While they owned 40 acres in town, any spare time they had would involve raising cattle, horses and chickens. They always had an awesome family garden where a lot of hard labor and sweat was just part of life growing up on the farm resulting in canning food for a growing family. They always had pets around especially their favorite family dog named Laddie.
Larry and Lucy enjoyed camping, fishing and boating in their spare time on the area lakes especially Beaver Lake in Arkansas where they owned a cabin. They had spent many weekends pulling skiers around the lake, fishing, and barbequing before returning home after a busy weekend.
Larry and Lucy were devout Catholics and attended daily mass for many years as members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Joplin and raised their 6 children in the Catholic school system.
Lucy stayed active while raising her children getting involved with the Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, taxiing children to and from athletic events, organized church events, and also volunteering as a Pink Lady with St. John’s Hospital.
In their retirement years Larry and Lucy liked the warmer climate in the winter season and would head to the southern Texas region to join up with their fellow snowbirds. They made that same journey every year for 24 years and really enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables that were plentiful in that region. They continued to attend daily Mass and became very active with other retirees while at their winter location. They always returned back to Joplin around the Easter season to be with family members and friends back in Missouri for the summer.
Lucy was well treated by the staff at The Joplin Gardens and later moved to the Assisted living/Memory Unit at The Wildwood Senior Living Community. Lucy was always going out of her way to help feed and serve other residents before serving herself. She was always trying to keep the staff on their toes and never met a person she didn’t like, and usually got along with everyone. She enjoyed the visits from Fr. Joe often promoting him to Bishop and one time to a Pope. He was such an inspiration to her often praying together when she needed spiritual uplifting. She loved her husband, her family, her role as a mother of 6 children and her faith. She can now celebrate her 69th wedding anniversary with Larry on Thursday, January 9, 2020.
Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, January 10, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Joplin, Missouri, with Father Joe Weidenbenner officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Webb City, Missouri. A rosary is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Thursday with visitation to follow until 8:00 p.m. in the chapel of Thornhill-Dillon Mortuary. Memorials are being directed to St. Mary’s Catholic Church Building Fund in care of the mortuary.
Arrangements are under the personal care and direction of Thornhill-Dillon Mortuary, Joplin, Missouri.
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