Lucille Dorothy Thompson Nourse was born on Sept. 27, 1925, to a Whidbey pioneer family at the two-story family home on Thompson Road, Bayview.

Lucille was the youngest of four children born to Oscar and Nellie Thompson.

Lucille’s grandfather, John Christian Thompson and his wife Gjesken and their family were the first Norwegian settlers in the Lone Lake area, settling there in 1884.

They had both immigrated from Norway, met and married in Kandiyohi County, Minn. in 1881, then came to Everett, where John rowed into Useless Bay, beached where Whidbey Telecom is now situated and walked around until he found a parcel of land with a creek and streams. He thought it would be a good place as he could farm, and the water was close by so he could fish.

He rowed back to Everett, and filed on the property. Once established, John would sail over to Port Townsend each month for supplies. All five of the Thompson children went to Bayview Grade School.

Lucille’s father Oscar was the second youngest of the five. He married a girl from Lone Lake, Nellie Talbott, in 1916. Their two oldest boys were born in Lavina, Mont., where Oscar was ranching.

The winters were so harsh that they decided to come back to Whidbey to Greenbank, where Oscar farmed and logged. The family moved back to the farm on Thompson Road in early 1925, where Lucille was born.

In 1927, Oscar bought 20 acres overlooking Sunlight Beach on Gabelein Road. He raised dairy cows, grew strawberries, and had 10,000 laying hens.

Lucille was a true farm girl; gathering and cleaning eggs, washing the metal disks for the milk and cream separators. She helped Nellie can meat and put up vegetables from the large garden, which she also had to weed.

Lucille and her brothers walked to Bayview School; one room had the first four grades and the other had the upper grades.

Oscar was on the school board, and always made sure that applying teachers were also ball players.

After Lucille graduated from Langley High School, she worked in Seattle at the Port of Embarkation with her brother Jim.

When Jim was drafted into the Army, she came home and worked at the Star Store, then at the Langley Fountain Cafe. She married Pat Nourse, the son of a pioneer family from Maxwelton, on Feb. 21, 1948 in the Little Brown Church.

They had three daughters, Sandy, Candy and Cindy, who also married there; daughter Candy wore Lucille’s wedding dress in her own wedding 29 years later. Pat worked at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for 30 years, retiring in 1978, and Lucille worked as the secretary to the principal at Langley High School from 1956 to 1975, where the teenagers fondly called her “Lucy.”

The couple lived in the Maxwelton area, always on a small farm, raising cows and horses, for most of their married lives.

Lucille and Pat and their girls spent 12 happy summers at their beach cabin in Maxwelton, enjoying the tide flats, water-skiing, crabbing and clamming and sing-alongs at the beach fire.

They were active with the Maxwelton Community Club, volunteered at the Maxwelton Fourth of July event, helped out at school functions, and were avid supporters of Langley sports teams.

They also both enjoyed bowling and Lucille had a sweater covered with 200 and 250 game pins.

After retirement, Pat and Lucille both took up golf, and Lucille became the Ladies Club Champion at Useless Bay Golf and Country Club in 1989, was active on their travel team and was a tough competitor for many years. They also played horseshoes and both won several trophies while they traveled in their fifth wheel around the country and Mexico. And when they were home, Lucille’s happiest moments in her early retirement were playing with her grandchildren, all of whom were raised close by.

Lucille was a member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Clinton; she volunteered at the Whidbey Hospital Guild for years; was a member of the Red Hat Society in Freeland; was proud of her involvement with the Daughters of Norway; was an active member at the Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club, as well as the Senior Center. She was also a huge baseball fan, but most especially, a lifelong Mariners fan.

Lucille succumbed as a result of complications due to colon cancer on Dec. 24, 2007.

She was diagnosed with the disease in October of 2000, and nearly died in January 2001, due to an allergy to the chemo; but she survived and came back strong and cancer free for the next six years. In November 2006, she was told that the cancer was back with a vengeance. The doctors gave her six months, but they didn’t realize her grit and determination.

Lucille wanted to go to Norway with her daughters, so they embarked in February 2007. While on their cruise, Lucille suffered from internal bleeding, was evacuated off the ship, and received six units of blood in the hospital at Tromso. She always joked that she went to Norway half-Norwegian, but she came back close to 100 percent!

After that, she had three goals: to go to her last grandchild’s wedding on June 23 (Dana), to see her great-granddaughter born on July 3 (Sophie), and to see her great-grandson born on Sept. 12, (Chase).

Lucille always had a great attitude, was always chipper, and could be ready to go at a moment’s notice. She felt blessed to be born on Whidbey Island and live in a spot where she was surrounded by her family members; the Thompsons, Talbotts and Browns; and her in-laws; the Nourses, Olsons and Mackies.

Lucille was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 55 years, Pat, in 2003; her parents, Oscar and Nellie Thompson; her brother, Gerald Thompson and his wife, Alma Ramstad Thompson; her brother, Jim and his wife, Patsy McGhan Thompson; her sister and brother-in-law, Betty and P.G. (Olie) Olson; and her sister and brother-in-laws, Bernie and Joe Mackie; niece, Joan Mackie Reece; nephew, Jimmy Allen Thompson; and niece, Kris Olson Wheeler.

She is survived by her daughters, Sandy and husband, Jim Grimes of Maxwelton, Candy and husband, Jon Hatch and Cindy and husband, Richard Ostrom all of Boise, Idaho; five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, Matt (Stephanie) Erikson and their children, Ella, Miles and Sophie of Langley, Tommy (Thalia) Erikson and their children, Jay Nia, Bethany and K.C. all of Kings Bay, Ga., Katie Erikson (Shawn) Ross and son, Chase of Mount Vernon, Kelly Grimes (Brian) Ricketts of Clinton, and Dana Grimes (Chris) Whitney of Oak Harbor.

Lucille is also survived by her nieces and nephews; Linda Thompson (Norm) Ross of Spanaway, Gary Thompson of Stanwood; Shannie Thompson ((Bruce) LaRue of Grants Pass, Ore., Laurie Thompson, (Rick) Gurries of Cloverdale, Calif., Larry (Marianne) Thompson of Mill Creek, Randy Thompson of Langley, Pattie Lynn Thompson (Ray) Wilson of Bellingham, Mike (Mindy) Thomspson of Clinton, Gary (Norma) Mackie of Bellingham, Nick (Linda) Mackie of Port Townsend, Marcy Mackie (Jim) Watts, of Mesquite, Texas, Kathy Olson (Norm) Heggenes of Langley, Tom (Ann) Olson of Anchorage, Ark., Wes Wheeler of Grapevine, Texas, Doug (Linda) Olson of Issaquah, and many great-nieces and nephews.

Lucille was very aware of her many blessings in this life; her excellent health for 75 years, her loving husband, Pat, her three daughters and her grandchildren.

We will all miss you Mom, but we know you are up there in Heaven with our whole tribe. They have been waiting for you for a long time, and we shall all be grateful for the day that we can see you again as well.

A memorial service was held in celebration of Lucille life Saturday Dec. 29 at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Langley. Interment was in the Nourse family plot in Bayview Cemetery.

Remembrances may be made to Senior Services of South Whidbey or Home Health Care of Whidbey General Hospital, or your favoirte charity.

Arrangements were under the direction of Visser Funeral Home, Langley.