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IN MEMORY

Lucelia Roberts (Pollock) - Class Of 1935

Lucelia Roberts Pollock, 103, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 13, 2020 surrounded by her family.

“Cille” was many things to many people, a daughter, loving wife and mother, a supportive sister and aunt, caring grandmother and great-grandmother, a dear friend and kind neighbor.

Named by her grandmother Hannah Rees, she was born on April 18, 1917 in Red Granite, WI.  Lucelia was the daughter of Welsh immigrants, William Roberts of Llithfaen (North Wales) and Hannah Jane (Rees) Roberts of Swansea (South Wales).  Lucelia was the third of six daughters, known as the “Roberts Girls”.  Growing up during the Depression, her job was to help her family, and together they turned their entire backyard into a garden.  The vegetables fed their family, and they always set out food for others who were in need.

She attended Kenosha schools and graduated from Kenosha High School in 1935.

Cille’s first job was helping to assemble the initial Snap-On Tool catalogs.  After high school, she took a fulltime job working at Snap-On on a punch machine that made leather toolkits… a real Rosie the Riveter.

At Snap-On, she met her future husband, John “Jay” Pollock, who worked in the shipping department.  After the start of WWII, Jay enlisted in the US Marines 6th Division.  While Jay was stationed overseas in the South Pacific Islands for 39 months, they exchanged many love letters.   When Jay returned from war, they were married on December 9, 1944 at First United Methodist Church, Kenosha WI.

Lucelia was a devoted mother of two children, David and Kathleen.  She was involved in their lives and became the first PTA president for Sunnyside Elementary, organized Kenosha Band Boosters and was involved in scouting.  Cille worked for 12 years in the Kenosha Public Schools, helping to start a program for children with special needs.

In 1967, Jay’s job moved them to Ottawa, IL.  Jay worked as the Plant Manager at the Snap-On Distribution Center, and Cille took a job working at The Daily Times Newspaper.  They loved their 20 years in Ottawa.

Lucelia was an excellent homemaker and seamstress, sewing many of her children’s clothes.  She also loved to cook and entertain guests.  If you attended an event at her house, you knew it would be special and also decorated for the holidays.

She was blessed to be able to travel and visit new places.  A trip to the British Isles was special because on this adventure they went to Wales to reconnect with their Welsh Roberts relatives and find her father’s home in Llithfaen.  Another favorite pastime was camping.  This was a way for her and the family to spend time together.  She would pack up their Heilite trailer to visit State and National Parks, traveling the entire USA.

Cille loved Door County, WI.  Her first trip to the area was in the 1940s, and from there it became an annual trip that carried on for many years and generations.  Cille enjoyed her last vacation there with her family this summer.

Her passion was to care for her family.  As a Mom, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother she rarely missed an event.  When invited, she was spontaneous and her response was always “Yes, what time should I be ready?”

She was a lifetime member of OES Chapter 92, JUS Club, SPI bible study, United Methodist Women’s – Rachel Circle, Welsh National Gymanga Ganu and the Bradford Alumni Association.

Left to carry on her legacy is her daughter, Kathleen (Gary) Anderson; three grandchildren:   Kerstin (Dr. Daniel) Santarelli of Bristol, WI, Karin (Casey) Cesnovar of Libertyville, IL, and Scott (Katharine Testin) Anderson of Seattle, WA; six great-grandchildren:  Daniel Jr., Lauren and Kaitlin Santarelli, Sophia and Caroline Cesnovar, and Atlas Anderson; her sister, Hannah Baumgardner; and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

Aside from her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her beloved son, David B. Pollock; and four sisters, Laura Margaret Roberts, Dorothy Lawell, Bronwen Keuck, and Helen Keedy.

Special heartfelt thanks to her relatives and dear friends who encouraged her through her continuous love and care.  She was a remarkable person, matriarch of the family and true keeper.  She will be missed, but her memory and traditions will always carry on.

A Celebration of Lucelia’s Life will be planned for a later date when we can be together with family and friends.