Lucille Reininga Ricketts

Lucille Reininga Ricketts died peacefully on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 at Bell Trace in Bloomington, where she had lived since 2001. Her death was preceded by a brief illness. She had celebrated her 90th birthday in August 2016.

She was born in Evansville and was raised in Washington, Ind. She was the daughter of the president of the First Citizen’s Bank, Ted Reininga.

Lucille attended Indiana University, majoring in chemistry, where she met her husband John Ricketts. They were married in 1947 and graduated the same year.

Lucille and John moved to Greencastle in 1951, where John joined the faculty of DePauw University. Lucille and John had two children, Tom and Sally.

Lucille was active in Greencastle in multiple organizations. She was passionate about voting rights and was a member of the League of Women Voters, serving on the state board of directors. She was a Greencastle School Board member. During her tenure there, the Northeast Elementary School was designed and built.

She was a founding member of Peace Lutheran Church. After her children left for college she became a research assistant to Dr. Jim Cooper, compiling information for a book on the history of the small bridges in Indiana.

Her parents, her sister and her husband preceded her in death. She is survived by her son Tom, a professor of philosophy at University of Pittsburgh, her daughter Sally, a physician in The Bronx, N.Y., and two grandchildren, Danny, 23, and Emma 21.

A memorial service will be held on March 11 at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, 3800 E. Third St., where she had been a member for more than 20 years. All are welcome to attend.