Lucille Noble Greer

Born March 14, 1924 in the Noble home on Ward Hill Road in Norridgewock, the daughter of Howard and Elsie (Walker) Noble, Lucille started grade school at the one-room Longley school, attended the next two years in town then moved with her family to Patten, Cherryfield, Gorham NH, and Fryeburg, Maine while her father was on military duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Back in Norridgewock for the 8th and 9th grade the family moved to Pueblo, CO during her sophomore year. Returning in 1939, she participated in sports, drama, and prize speaking and graduated as Salutatorian from Norridgewock High School in 1941.

While attending her first year in Thomas Business College in Waterville, World War II broke out and Lucille joined the Civil Service Commission in Washington, D.C., first working in the medical section of their Retirement Division on 9th Street, then in the Code Room of the Army Signal Corps in the newly opened Pentagon Building. In the summer of 1944 she joined the Navy WAVES, taking her “Boot Camp” training at Hunter College in NY and Hospital Corps School at Bethesda Naval Hospital in MD. At her duty station in Great Lakes Naval Base, Ill. Lucille advanced to Pharmacist’s Mate 3rd class, working first on the pneumonia wards, in the “Quiet Rooms”, then in x-ray. She served on active duty from December 1944 until December 1945. Her father was a retired Army Major, her mother had served as an Army nurse in World War I, and her sister was later an Army Nurse in the Korean Conflict so the family was well-known locally as an all military family, often marching in the local parades with their military spouses and children.

In July 1945 Lucille Noble married Army Air Corps 1st Lt. William A. Greer of New Castle, PA having met him after he returned from piloting a B-24 for 35 missions from England over Europe. They met at a dinner for those selling war bonds while he was doing exhibition flying in Chicago and she was assigned to sell on the wards at Great Lakes Naval Hospital. After her discharge they took the overcrowded train filled with returning GIs home to Maine for Christmas which then took several days of standing and sitting on suitcases. They made their home at Air Force bases in Smyrna, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; San Antonio, Texas; Rockingham, North Carolina where their first child, Brian, was born; Trappe, Pennsylvania when Bill was assigned to Schuylkill Arsenal in Pittsburgh; District Heights, Suitland, and Camp Springs, Maryland for assignment at Andrews AFB; Great Falls, Montana; Tripoli, Libya, North Africa where daughter, Debra, joined them; Rapid City, South Dakota, Agana and Anderson AFB, Guam which saw the arrival of son, Bruce; and then at Dow AFB in Bangor where then Major Greer retired the last day of 1960. During those years Lucille was active in the Officer’s Wives Clubs, Base Nurseries, and taught in Nursery Schools. In Tripoli, Libya, she was liaison between the local educational organizations and the Officers Wives Club and helped refurbish the graves of those buried in the American Cemetery. At Dow AFB she was the first wife honored with a plaque by the Base Commander for her community efforts. Because Libya was considered a hardship area, the Greers were allowed to travel a month in Europe and took the Mediterranean Cruise back to the States. The same conditions prevailed in Guam from which they spent a month in Japan.

After several months in Woodmont, Connecticut, the Greers moved to Aurora, Colorado where Lucille was PTA President of the group which built an ice-skating rink and started the first Memorial Day Parade. She was a certified Goren bridge teacher and instructor at Lowry AFB, the Denver YMCA and ran duplicate bridge tournaments. The family moved to Fort Collins where she was employed in the business office, then became Conference Coordinator at Colorado State University. After one year in Cocoa Beach, Florida, the Greers moved back to Norridgewock in 1971 to be near her family and bought a home which was three miles from the one in which she was born. They have remained there beside the Kennebec River ever since. From there they took two enjoyable trips to the British Isles, Lucille took grandson Ryan Pelton to Hawaii and his brother Ben to Denmark, and with a friend who had served with her in the WAVES toured the capitals of Europe.

As a well-known broker-salesman, Lucille was associated with Century 21 Whittemore’s real Estate in Skowhegan for over ten years. After retiring, she attended with her son and daughter at the University of Maine at Farmington, graduating with the former with an Associate degree in Liberal Arts in 1987, and with her daughter receiving her bachelor’s degree in General Studies in 1989. She continued her education for three more years then became deeply involved in the Norridgewock Historical Society to which she devoted a great deal of time until her death, having served as President and Museum Curator. Lucille authored historical and genealogical papers and articles for the quarterly NHS newsletter, and served for many years as the Norridgewock Correspondent for the weekly Somerset Gazette.

She was a former secretary and Star Point of Cedar Chapter #63 OES, and the Eaton-Norridgewock Alumni Association, Chairman and member of the Planning Board, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Village Improvement Society, Sunset Chapter OES, the Eunice Farnsworth Chapter of DAR, Past Secretary and Past President of Maine Unit #41 of WAVES National and WN State Director from 2000-2002, and member of Madison Post #39 of the American Legion. With co-chairman Diane Turcotte she held the 8th New England Conference of WAVES National at the Samoset Resort in 2003. As a testament to her selfless service to the military and veterans organizations, she received the honor of being appointed an honorary Aide de-Camp to Governor Baldacci.

Though always involved in civic affairs, Lucille derived her greatest pleasure from gathering her immediate and extended family as she continued her mother’s tradition of frequent reunions for holidays and personal occasions. Lucille is predeceased by her mother, father, husband, eldest son Brian, sister Jean Hendren and husband Kenneth, and infant sister Mavis. She is survived by daughter Debra Pelton and Glenn Pelton of Norridgewock and their sons Ryan and fiancé Lauren Kowalczyk and Benjamin and wife Rachael; son Bruce Greer of Norridgewock and his daughters Colleen and Jennifer; Daughter-in-law Paula Greer and sons Kendric and Craig, nephews Charles Hendren and son Kenneth (deceased) and daughter Ada Jean; Richard Hendren, his wife Annie and sons Ian and Shea; Edward Hendren, his wife Beth Emerine and sons Jonathan and Joseph and daughter Kessea; David Hendren and wife Barbara Blaisdell as well as several cousins.

The family would like to acknowledge the wonderful care that she received from the staff at the CCU of the Thayer Unit of Maine General Medical Center in Waterville. Our special thanks to nurse Ellen and Lucille’s long-time physician, Dr. Lanoy for their compassionate and loving touch.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday March 17, 2012 at 2pm at the First Congregational Church, 32 River Road, Norridgewock, Maine, with Pastor Richards officiating. A burial will take place later in the spring at the Oak Cemetery in Norridgewock.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Smart & Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan, Maine.