Lucy Spera, 102, passed away peacefully on Monday, September 29, at Brookside Care Center. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gregory and Mary (Cerminara) Nicolazzo; husband, Angelo; daughter, Barbara; brother, Corradino (Aida Patriarcha); and five sisters: Anita Spera (Costanzo), Ida Pagliaro (Anthony), Sofia Fish (John T.), Ernestine Auckerman and Helen Gould. She is survived by a son, David (Nancy) of Bonita Springs, FL, and North Ridgeville, OH; a granddaughter Kimberly Leggitt (Derald) of Youngsville, NC; two grandsons: Scott (Amy) of Wyoming, OH, and Shawn (Marcia) of Solon, OH; and six great-grandchildren: Ryan, Connor, Lucia (her namesake), Elizabeth, Zachary and William.
Born on June 18, 1906, she was educated in local schools and graduated as valedictorian of her class at Mary D. Bradford High School. She was a local tennis singles champion and went on to graduate in 1927 from the Baptist Missionary Training School in Chicago. After employment as a church secretary in Cincinnati, she returned to Kenosha to marry Angelo in October 1929 and raise a family, remaining in this city for the rest of her life. During the Great Depression she was the sole support of her family, working at Nash Motors as a stenographer and personal secretary. Later, she was employed at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois. She was one of the first members of the Calvary Baptist Church in Kenosha, which later united with the First Baptist Church, and she served for many years as church clerk and Sunday School teacher.
Lucy lived a long life of tireless service to her family, her churches, and her community. She was skilled in all types of hand crafts, including knitting and crocheting, ceramics, and making dolls, rugs and quilts. For many years she taught crafts at the Christian Youth Center and the Senior Citizen Center and demonstrated crafts to children in several Kenosha schools. At the age of 73 she volunteered to travel to Kodiak Island, Alaska, to teach crafts to abandoned children at a Baptist mission school. At age 80 she traveled halfway around the world to India, this time to teach crafts to deaf children. In her 90s she was a volunteer at the Woodstock nursing home. Just before suffering a stroke at age 98, she completed her latest project: knitting a dozen winter caps for disadvantaged children.
Lucy was a member of the P.E.O. (Bo Chapter) and the Bain School P.T.A. Past Presidents Club.
A brief memorial service will be held at 11:00AM on Thursday, October 9 at the First Baptist Church of Kenosha, followed by interment at Sunset Ridge Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations to the First Baptist Church are appreciated.