Lucia Luce

Lucia Josselyn Luce, 93, of Plymouth, MA, died on December 28, 2016. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 4, 1923, Lucia and her elder sister Priscilla grew up in Flushing, Queens, with frequent visits to her mother's family in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The daughter of Priscilla Jones Corduan and Herbert Charles Corduan, an accomplished violinist, composer, and teacher who worked with the Ziegfeld Follies, the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Public Schools, Lucia developed a lifelong love of music. As a girl, she fell hard for Frankie Sinatra who she once skipped school to see, and could often be found speedskating across the rink in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a pastime that brought her great joy during the hard years of the Depression and the Second World War.

After finishing high school, Lucia moved to Poultney, Vermont, where she continued to study French, skated competitively, and eventually earned an associate's degree at Green Mountain Junior College. While on campus, she met a cadet from nearby Norwich University named Richard G. Luce, who was convinced he would marry her the moment he saw her through the window of her dormitory. They courted until shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Dick enlisted in the Army Air Corps. They fell out of touch during the war, while Dick served in a bomber squadron in Italy and Lucia returned to New York to work as a secretary for Earl Newsome & Company, an advertising firm on Madison Avenue. In 1949, however, Dick wrote to her and inquired whether he had addressed his letter correctly ("Miss" as opposed to "Mrs.") and if so, whether he could come to see her. She told him that he had and welcomed a visit. They married in 1950 and honeymooned at Skytop in the Poconos, but not before running into Ol' Blue Eyes and Ava Gardner at a night club in Greenwich Village after the wedding ceremony.

Dick and Lucia spent their following years in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, settling in Chippewa Township in Beaver County not far from Dick's family. They raised their two children Rob and Lucia and became active members of their community while playing innumerable rounds of golf over the decades. Lucia loved spending summers in New England, especially with her family at Laudholm Farm in Wells, Maine, and gardening, reading, and knitting at home.

When Dick ended his career in Tennessee, he and Lucia retired to Asheville, North Carolina, where they enjoyed friendships built over a lifetime. They faced trials, especially the death of Rob at the age of 31 from melanoma, and welcomed much joy into their lives with the birth of their grandchildren Will and Emma, for whom Lucia knitted intricate baby blankets that survive to this day. They eventually moved to Chatham, Massachusetts, where they went to the beach every day, rain or shine, winter or summer, and eventually lived together in Sandwich and Plymouth.

Lucia will be remembered for her sharp wit, sparkling eyes, Mona Lisa smile, and being a good friend, particularly to her husband and children.

Preceding her in death were Richard G. Luce, her husband of 63 years; her son, Robert N. Luce; her sister, Priscilla Coffin; and her son-in-law, John W. Quinn. She is survived by her daughter, Lucia Luce Quinn of Boston, MA; her grandson Will Quinn of Washington, DC; her granddaughter, 1st Lt. Emma Quinn, USMC, of Okinawa, Japan; her daughter-in-law, Donna P. Justice of Rainier, OR; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service for her and her husband will be held in Newburyport, MA in 2017. In lieu of flowers, the family sincerely requests that donations be made to the Cure Alzheimer's Fund (http://www.curealz.org). For a complete obituary and condolences, please visit http://www.dignitymemorial.com/nickersonfunerals/en-us/index.page.