Lucille "Lucy" Virginia (Mueller) Fuchs

Lucy was born on November 2, 1927, in Mt. Olive, IL, the daughter of Lawrence and Anna (Hinz) Mueller. She married the love of her life, Leland Fuchs, on October 10, 1953, in Mount Olive, IL after their meeting at the wedding of a mutual friend.

Lucy was raised in a “small town” by a loving family surrounded by large vegetable and flower gardens, an orchard of fruit trees, and her cherished siblings. After graduation, Lucy worked at the historic Butler Brothers building in the “big city” of St. Louis and later for the State of Illinois Parole and Pardon Board in Springfield.

After her marriage, Lucy devoted herself to being a wife, mother, and volunteer. Her greatest joy in life was to raise her own children, and to love so many of the neighborhood children as well. These neighbors created a tight-knit community that formed an idyllic place for children to grow up. Lucy constantly volunteered at events to do the necessary tasks: transport supplies, set-up chairs and tables, decorate rooms, ferry kids home, etc. She and her girlfriends typed the library cards for every single book and the card catalog in the new library at Hazel Dell Elementary School in the 1960s.

Lucy loved to travel. In addition to Christmas trips to Florida, she planned family road trips to different regions of the nation each summer so that her children could learn to appreciate the diversity that is America. She was delighted when some of these trips were later reenacted by her children and grandchildren. During a 2000 trip to Germany, she was elated to meet with members of the Fuchs family in their ancestral farming village of Netzbach.

Lucy’s family will be forever grateful to her wonderful caregivers for their loving and compassionate care.

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, and husband, Leland Fuchs.

Lucy is survived by her sons, Bruce Fuchs of Bethesda, MD, Randal Fuchs of Port Richey, FL, and Robin (Catherine) Fuchs of Springfield; daughter, Lori (Shell) Haffner of Portland, OR; five grandchildren, Tyler (Jocelyn), Taryn, Elisabeth (Riley), Michael, and Rebecca; and three great-grandchildren, Happy, Lucas, and Maxwell.

A private burial will be held at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Lincoln Memorial Garden at 2301 E. Lake Shore Drive, Springfield, IL 62712 or www.LincolnMemorialGarden.org

(Lucy loved flowers and trees—as well as the birds, squirrels, and deer who visited her yard. The raccoons who destroyed her feeders in the night were less well-loved.)

The family is being served by Butler Funeral Home-Springfield, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield, IL.