Lucille E. Ricard, 90, of Fairmont, MN

Funeral Services for Lucille E. Ricard, 90, of Fairmont, MN, will be held on Friday, July 31, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at the Grace Lutheran Church in Fairmont, MN. Burial will be held following the service in the Lakeside Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday, July 30, 2009, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont. Lucille passed away on Monday, July 27, 2009, at the Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center in Fairmont. Lucille Elnora (Abel) Ricard was born on December 15, 1918, on a farm in Rutland Township, Martin County, near Granada, MN, the daughter of Henry and Florence (Short) Abel. She attended District #80 Country School near Granada and graduated from Granada High School in 1937. Following graduation, Lucille began working as a Telephone Operator in Granada. On October 29, 1939, Lucille was united in marriage to W. Ray Ricard at the Granada United Church of Christ Parsonage in Granada. Together the couple made their home near Granada where they were blessed with four children, Sharon, Darwin, Florence, and Leland. The couple worked for area farmers for a number of years before moving to the Abel family farm near Granada. In 1972, Ray passed away and Lucille continued to operate the farm until moving to Fairmont in the mid 1980's. During this time, Lucille also worked for the Redwood Café. She then moved to Granada for a short time before returning to Fairmont where she lived at the Pheasant Run Apartments for many years. Faith was very important to Lucille and she took on many roles within the Granada Congregational Church in which she was a member. She served as past president of the Ladies Aid, was Deaconess of the Church, a past member of the Church Board, taught Sunday School and was Chairman of Women Fellowship. Lucille was also a member of the Granada American Legion Auxiliary Post # 319 serving as past president. In her spare time, Lucille enjoyed gardening, crocheting, cooking, working on ceramic projects and fishing. She was an avid card player and cherished time spent with her family and friends. Left to cherish her memory is her son, Leland "Gene" Ricard of Shelbyville, TN, daughter-in-law, Cheryl Ferch of Fairmont; twelve grandchildren, Brenda (Randy) Lubenow, Dawn May and fiancee Shawn Wiederhoeft, Carla (Keith) Nagel, Carol (Nick) Peshman, Darwin Ricard Jr., Mary Ann Redican, Michael Redican, Patricia (Gary) Sandmann, Patrick (Bonnie) Redican, Kristi Ricard, David Ricard, and Stephen Ricard; eleven great-grandchildren, Damon, Chelsea, Bianca, Ethan, Emily, Bailey, Kori, Haley, Kayce, Travis, and Dylan; two brothers-in-law, Floyd Tonne and Gerald Ricard; three sisters-in-law, Annabelle Bierbaum, Martha (Floyd) Sutton, and Rosalie Bernasek; as well as many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. In addition to her parents, Henry and Florence; Lucille is preceded in death by her husband, Ray; two daughters, Sharon Redican and Florence May; one son, Darwin Ricard; one son-in-law, Mike Redican; one brother, Donald Abel; two sisters, Fern Steele and Ruth Tonne; two brother-in-laws, Warren Ricard and Clifford Steele; and three sisters-in-law, Rachel Clark, Geneva Donavon, and Ruth Imhoff.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Obituary