Ms. Lucille Mae Ivy (née Wilcken) died peacefully at the John R. Williamson Hospice House on Aug. 15, 2018 in El Dorado, at the age of 94.
Lucille is survived by her son, John Frederick Ivy, of Little Rock; her five grandchildren Tammy (Jamie), Scott, Jeri, Joey (Sabrina), and Erica; great grandchildren Tyler (Whitney), Brooklyn, Jordan, Jake, Joshua, Marley, Alex, and Pierson; and great great granddaughter, Maxwell Jane. She is preceded in death by her mother and father, Cecelia Miller Wilcken and William Wilcken, of Staten Island, New York, granddaughter Jennifer Leigh Davis of El Dorado, brother Frederick Wilcken of Hallandale, Florida, sister Margaret “Toots” Petrocelli, of Staten Island, New York, son Sterling Ginn Ivy, Jr., of Pine Bluff, brother William “Chick” Wilcken, of Bronx, New York, daughter Jane Cecelia Davis, and her beloved son-in-law, Jerry Davis, of El Dorado .
Lucille was born on March 4, 1924 in Staten Island, New York to William and Cecelia Wilcken. After graduating from high school in Staten Island, she met and married Sterling G. Ivy, Sr. during World War II and had three children. They lived on Staten Island until 1954, when they moved to Hampton, Arkansas to be closer to Sterling Sr.’s family. Lucille and Sterling purchased a gas station, which they owned for several years. During this time, Lucille became affectionately known as Hampton’s resident Catholic and was nicknamed “The Spaghetti Lady” for her love of making Italian food.
After divorcing Sterling Sr. in the 1960s, Lucille decided to follow her dream and become a nurse. She dedicated her life to nursing, and subsequently, helping other people. After retiring from nursing, Lucille helped her children raise her grandchildren and great grandchildren. You could often see her in the stands or at events cheering them on, taking them to various activities, teaching them to play poker, treating them to Italian ices during the summer months, or cooking Sunday lunches of lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and strawberry cake for her entire family.
She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her for her no feistiness, her independence, her pride in being a New Yorker and a Catholic, her humor, her poker skills, and her infectious smile.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of service, which is 11 a.m., at Holy Redeemer Church in El Dorado, under the direction of Perry’s Funeral Chapels.
The online guest registry is at www.perrysfuneralchapels.com.