Inez Lucille Butler Froeschke, age 100, died peacefully on Friday, December 30, 2016 surrounded by family at her daughter’s home in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
The seventh of nine children, Lucille was born April 16, 1916, south of Vincennes, Indiana to parents Tom and Rose Etta Catt Butler.
Lucille and her husband William (Bill) Froeschke first met on the school bus, and married March 27, 1935. They raised four children and celebrated 63 years of marriage. Together, they farmed ground south of Vincennes for 45+ years, transitioning from horses to tractors in the early 1950s, and raising watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, and sweet potatoes. During the WWII war years, Lucille also worked at the parachute factory and Reynolds.
She began school at Decker School, Decker, Indiana, and attended Freelon School and Beach Hills School near Monroe City. She moved around Knox County where her father farmed and worked the oil fields. Lucille was confirmed at St. Peters Lutheran Church, where she was a lifetime member and very active. She and two other members started the hot-lunch program at St. Peters, and took turns preparing meals for the students. She was always involved in the annual St. Peter’s picnic where fricassee is cooked in outdoor kettles. She was able to attend the picnic in October to supervise just a little, and she loved visiting with everyone there, although she could no longer stir the pot. She was also an avid euchre player until failing eyesight prevented her from seeing the cards.
After Bill died, she was fortunate to spend winters in Arizona, first with her sister Velma Hess in Carefree, and later with her son Joe and his family in Mesa. She continued to live in her farmhouse on Old Decker Road until age 98, when she went to Ft. Wayne to live with Dixie and Jim.
Lucille is survived by her youngest sister, Nellie McRae of Winter Haven, Florida, and children Dixie Sue Froeschke Croxton and her husband James; Frederick Lee and wife Judy Ann; and David Joe and wife Wilma. She was preceded in death by husband William, December, 1998, and son William Thomas (spouse Judy Kay survives) in 1994, as well as her brothers Herschel, Marlin, and Icel, and sisters Flossie and Velma. Lucille is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, 12 great-great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews with her family extending across the country from coast to coast in FL, NC, VA, TN, IN, MI, AZ, and OR.
Lucille loved her family dearly, and she was an icon to her family, extended family, church, friends, and community. She was much loved. She was a wonderful wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother, and she will be sadly missed.
Visitation is Friday, January 6, from 4-8 pm at Goodwin Funeral Home, 524 Broadway, in Vincennes. Funeral services will be held at St. Peters Lutheran Church, 6990 S. Decker Road, Vincennes on Saturday, January 7, at 11:00 am with Pastor Nathan Rastl officiating. Friends may also visit with Lucille’s family from 10:00 am until the hour of service time of 11:00 am on Saturday at the church. Burial at St. Peters Cemetery, followed by lunch at the St. Peters Parish Hall.
Memorials may be made to St. Peters Lutheran Church or Visiting Nurse Hospice, 5910 Homestead Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46804-4202