Amelia Frost Lum

Amelia Frost Lum (June 17, 1937- June 7, 2015) It is a truth as old as the Scriptures: That a life is measured by the treasure it holds. For Amelia Frost Lum, who died Sunday, June 7, after a gallant, gritty yet gracious battle with cancer, her life’s yardstick read simply: Faith. Family. Friends. Mrs. Lum was 77, 10 days shy of her 78th birthday. She peacefully passed into eternal rest with the Lord, surrounded by those who loved her best. Mrs. Lum was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Frost; her husband, longtime Jasper businessman, James G. “Tuck” Lum; a brother-in-law, Paul Smith; and a sister-in-law, Jean Frost. She is survived by her son, George English Lum IV and his wife, Angie Reed Lum, her grandson, Reed English Lum and a daughter, Elizabeth Lum Richardson and her husband, George A. “Rusty” Richardson, all of Jasper. She is also survived by her sisters, Dora “Sis” Grace Smith of Calera and Julia Wilson (Hal) of Heflin, Alabama and her brother, E.G. Frost of Calera, Alabama; an aunt, Zemma Sproul of Calera, Alabama; and a host of nieces, nephews, special friends and caregivers. A native of Calera, Alabama, Mrs. Lum lived in Jasper for more than 50 years. She was a former Walker County agent for the Auburn University Cooperative Extension Service. A 1955 graduate of Calera High School, Mrs. Lum was a 1958 graduate of Alabama College (now the University of Montevallo). She was a devout member of the First Presbyterian Church of Jasper (PCA) since 1967, where her deep faith helped sustain her through good times and bad. She was an active member of First Presbyterian’s Women in the Church (WIC). Those who knew her best remember her simple elegance, a gift that would allow her to win 4 H national honors in clothing design while in college. That same gift enabled her to create beauty in everything she sewed or served. The New Testament tells us of the gift of hospitality. Amelia Lum had that gift by the truckload, making everyone from strangers to closest friends feel warm and welcome. Simplicity extended into the joys she took from life -vacations at the beach, sunsets at Smith Lake, decorating for and celebrating holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. But friends will quickly say that every meal-from homemade vegetable soup and cornbread on an icy winter night, to a Yuletide feast, was an occasion to be celebrated with love and laughter. She was her grandson Reed’s biggest cheerleader while watching him play sports, teaching him by her example to win or lose with an equal measure of grace. While there are tears at her passing, there is joy in the knowledge that her pain has been replaced by comfort and her tears with laughter. Most of all, we rejoice that we will see her again. As the Proverbs teach, a woman of noble character is worth more than rubies. So it was with Amelia Frost Lum. Visitation for Mrs. Lum will be conducted from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., Wednesday, June 10, 2015, at Kilgore-Green Chapel. Funeral services will immediately follow, with burial in Oak Hill Cemetery, the Rev. Scott Pierce officiating. Memorials should be made to First Presbyterian Church of Jasper, or a favorite charity.