Remembering my beloved Grandmother

Lucille Elizabeth Hinote

One of my favorite memories I had as a little girl was when Grandma Deck, her husband Bill, and children Donna and Mike would come to visit us from Hinsdale, Illinois. At some point during their visit, Grandma and I would sneak away and go lay on my bedroom floor. There she would tell me tales of long ago - tales I cherish to this day.

She would tell me about the day she was born, Dec. 4, 1911, in Burlington Junction, Mo. When her mother, Bertha, went into premature labor, the doctor and his nurse were immediately called. Back then the doctor and a nurse came to the homes to deliver babies.

When my grandmother was born, she only weighed 2 pounds. Because she was premature and because of her low birth weight, the doctor assumed the baby was dead. He cut her umbilical cord very close to her stomach. As the doctor focused his attention on Bertha, the nurse saw the tiny infant move. Realizing the baby was indeed alive, the nurse quickly padded a cake pan with a blanket, making a makeshift incubator. Baby Lucille was laid on the blanket and then put into the oven which was set on a very low temperature.

Thanks to that attentive nurse, Lucille grew up to be a beautiful, healthy young woman. On April 16, 1927, she married William Edgar Lee. She was only 15 years old. Four days after turning 16, she too went into premature labor. Her baby was supposed to be born in February. Trying to stop the labor, she went up to her room to her bed where she stuffed rags into her mouth to muffle her cries and prayed the labor would stop.

Lucille lived in a boarding house. One of the tenants was a nurse. When the nurse heard Lucille’s cries, she knew the young girl was in labor and immediately sought help. Grandma delivered a healthy baby girl - my mom.

I could listen to Grandma for hours as she told her many stories. She talked as long as I would listen. She would often drift off to sleep in the middle of one of her stories.

Lucille Elizabeth Hinote Deck fell asleep for the last time in August 1997. Her stories will live in my memory and I will continue to tell them to my children and their children as long as they will listen.

I love you, Grandma.