Lucille W. Colimore, beloved matriarch, registered nurse and wife of a popular Baltimore newspaper columnist, died Saturday at Gilchrist Center Towson. She was 97 and lived in Lutherville for more than 50 years.
The former Miss Williams grew up in the small whistlestop railroad town of Crewe, Va. where her father was a conductor on the Norfolk and Western Railroad and her mother helped raise her, two brothers and a sister.
From her house – where she was born in 1921 - she could hear train whistles and chugging steam engines pulling a long line of coal cars. She and the family often entertained themselves playing the piano, guitar and ukulele.
Her inventive brother Joseph once created a kite-like glider and had his younger sister Lucille take a brief flight as its pilot. She also took a spin in a small ferris wheel he built.
After graduating from high school, Mrs. Colimore left Crewe for Johns Hopkins in Baltimore where she began training to be a registered nurse.
While in the big city, she met James A. Colimore on a blind date in 1941 shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Mr. Colimore, a pilot, took her for rides in a small prop plane. Later, he flew to Crewe, Va. when she was home and drove to Richmond, Va. to see her when she began serving as a nurse at St. Elizabeth's Hospital there.
After the Dec. 7 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Colimore joined the U.S. Army Air Forces and was ordered to leave for training as a combat glider pilot – but not before he and Lucille married.
Their first child, James. A. Colimore Jr., arrived in 1943, just months before Mr. Colimore flew a glider into Normandy, France on D-Day. He would fly in two more large combat operations, receive a Purple Heart and other medals during the war, then return after the surrender of Germany and Japan to Baltimore where he worked as a night life columnist for the Baltimore News American.
Another son, Edward Brian, was born in 1950, and a daughter, Karen Lee, in 1955.
The Colimores lived in the Northwood section of Baltimore until 1968 when they moved to Lutherville.
Mrs. Colimore ended up using her nursing skills on the family and often stayed up late typing school term papers for her children.
After Mr. Colimore passed away in 1996, she became the center and heart of the ever-expanding family. Her home was a gathering place for special events – birthdays, graduations, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Up until walking became more difficult, Mrs. Colimore was an active member of Valley Baptist Church in Lutherville where she regularly attended services, was part of the church's Heritage Club and helped arrange church trips to Lancaster and Philadelphia. She was an avid reader of the Bible and enjoyed Christian music.
She continued to be the center of the family during her illnesses in recent months as generations of children rallied around her.
The family will receive friends at Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley, Inc., 10 W. Padonia Road (at York Rd) Timonium, MD 21093 on Wednesday, from 2pm to 4pm and 7pm to 9pm. A Celebration of Lucille’s life will be held in the Valley Baptist Church, 1401 York Road, Lutherville, Maryland 21093 on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 11:30am.
Entombment Private.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be directed in Lucille’s memory to Valley Baptist Church at the above address and/or Gilchrist Center, 11311 McCormick Road, Suite 350, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031.
