Ann S. Lucas

Ann was born at home in Rice Lake, Wisconsin on August 4, 1924 to Elrena and Adolph Arntson. She was the third child of six. The first four children were girls and were born within five years. Six years after Ann was born, a brother, David, arrived. Six years after that, another brother, Wayne arrived. Ann’s mother refused to live on the east side of Rice Lake so the family of eight lived in a two-bedroom house on the south side. Ann’s bedroom growing up was the family room. She and her sister, Betty, slept on the fold-out couch. They each had one drawer and a paper bag to hold their belongings. This probably explains why Ann was so happy in her great big house in Bow Mar.

She grew up during the depression which was a factor throughout her life. Two things she said about growing up poor were that, #1-- she didn’t know they were poor, and #2-- her folks worked hard to always have food on the table. She fondly remembers her dad growing potatoes and trading them for apples with the neighbor. The Arntsons raised chickens, berries, and “put up” many jars of fruits and vegetables.

Ann was an excellent student in school. As a freshman, she went into the band director’s office and said she wanted to be in the band. He said he had a French horn he could rent to her for pennies a week so she agreed to the deal and left his office with a French horn. Of course, by her senior year, she was first chair. Music has always been an important part of her life. She also had a beautiful singing voice, but was very shy about that. In her later years, after her throat became scratchy, she would jokingly sing along with Lee Marvin to I Was Born Under a Wandering Star from Paint Your Wagon.

Any spare moment that Ann had, growing up in northern Wisconsin, she could be found on the ice. She loved skating. Many years later, she took a few spins and turns on Bowles Lake.

During Ann’s senior year in high school, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Because of this, her family moved to Duluth, Minnesota immediately after her graduation. It was a sad time for her as many of her classmates were being shipped to fight in WWII. Being the little toughie that she was, Ann found work and decorated the screened in porch that she and her sister, Dody, shared in the house her parents rented on Park Point. She winterized it, hung pretty little draperies, and figured a way to make a small closet.

Shortly after moving to Duluth, Ann became good friends with Arlene “Cookie” Lucas. Ann tells the story of the time she and Cookie saw the first signs of spring after a hard Duluth winter. The two decided to walk along the shore of Lake Superior and enjoy the sunshine. As they walked along the shore, the cruel wind came off the cold lake. Cookie turned to Ann and said, “I’m not too warm, are you?” Ann said, “No, not at all too warm.” And they continued their walk along the shore.

Wouldn’t you know, Arlene had a big brother named Duane. Ann admired his blonde wavy hair, big blue eyes, and his tall, slender frame. After Duane returned from the British Isles after serving as a Sea Bee in the Navy, they were married on January 26, 1946. The high that day in Duluth, Minnesota was minus 26!

Shortly after their wedding, Ann and Duane moved to White Rock, New Mexico. They bought a convertible “for cheap” and pulled a trailer with their belongings to the foreign land. The story is told that the weight of the trailer caused the car to torque so the doors would open. We really don’t know if that’s true. Having been raised in northern Wisconsin, Ann couldn’t figure out why there were so many miniature horses in New Mexico. They were so much smaller than the big Clydesdales that worked the dairy farms near Rice Lake.

Duane and Ann were both smart, strong, and driven. Before long, Duane had started his own construction business and Ann supported him all the way. The apple of Ann’s eye was born on October 25, 1947, Larry Tod Lucas. At this time, the Lucas family lived in a trailer home on the job site with no running water. It didn’t matter. They were happy.

Throughout the next years, Ann and Duane moved many times. Ann packed the trailer and off they went to the next job site. Eventually, they rented or bought homes in the towns where Duane was working. The towns included: Los Alamos, Gunnison, Flagstaff, Grand Junction, Durango, Boulder, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood. Karen Ann came along on February 24, 1952. Larry had a little sister! Then, five years after that on March 21, 1957, Debra Lynn was born on her dad’s birthday. The family was complete—they had a boy, a girl, and a bonus.

After fifteen or so moves, Ann wanted to put down roots. They began to build their dream house in Bow Mar in 1960. Before moving into their new house, they became charter members of Pinehurst Country Club. There wasn’t even a building or a golf course when they joined!

As everyone knows, Ann loved her house with the million- dollar view in Bow Mar! She was active in her three children’s lives and kept the house sparkling neat and clean. She could push a lawn mower just as easily as she could sew a dress. She belonged to the Pinehurst ladies bowling league from its inception and only quit bowling when her arthritic hand could no longer hold the ball. She was active in the ladies 9- hole golf group. She never lost a golf ball because she had the most precise and short game imaginable.

In later years, Ann became involved in her grandchildren’s lives. She felt fortunate that four of them lived in town near her. Musical theatre, track and cross country, baseball, basketball, band and winter percussion kept her busy. And, to add some frosting to the cake, six great-grandchildren arrived.

Ann always said that the only way she was leaving 4600 Bow Mar Drive was in a pine box. She almost succeeded! Just two and a half months ago, she left her home and moved into assisted living. A week after her move, it was discovered that she had inoperable colorectal cancer. She felt secure in her new apartment and received lots of attention and she made some new friends with the nurses and attendants. She said she just didn’t have anything in common with all the old women who were there so she preferred the younger staff members. Her family members will be forever grateful to the staff at Brookdale Senior Living. Some of you might be aware that Ann liked to talk and the staff listened to all of her stories.

A few years ago, Ann had to make the tough decision to have her beloved Greyhound, Valerie, euthanized. Following the euthanasia, Ann turned to the vet and her daughter and said, “That was so peaceful. I want to go out the same way.” Well, on the morning of October 22nd, she did just that. She peacefully died in her room at Brookdale Senior Living holding her daughter’s hand.

Memorial service will be Saturday, October 29, 2016 at 10:00 am in the Olinger Crown Hill Pavilion of Reflection. In lieu of flowers donations in Ann’s memory may be made to Colorado Greyhound Adoption (greyhoundadoption.com) or the Dumb Friend’s League (ddfl.org.)