Lucille Rickie"" Werner

Lucille Werner, also known as “Rickie,” died at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 16, 2011, at The Life Care Center in Farmington. Rickie was a longtime resident of Saguache, Colo., the wife of the late rancher, John F. Werner and mother of one son, John L. Werner. She will be long remembered as a most unique and unforgettable woman as well as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. Rickie lived a life that was unlike any other. She was the youngest of four children born to a couple living in Clatskanie, Ore. Very little is known about her parents except that all four children were taken away from their parents in early 1923. All four children were placed at The Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children in Portland, Ore. The hospital had an orphanage wing in those days. This traumatic event happened due to Rickie having fallen onto a hot wood stove, which caused a serious burn across her face. When the parents let it be known that they needed medical attention for Rickie, the authorities determined they were unfit parents and put the four children up for adoption at the Shriner’s Orphanage. The Shriner’s Hospital determined that in addition to treating the facial burn, Rickie also needed treatment for a dislocated hip. They said it would require her to be in traction for a year or more to align the hip and then she would require retraining in how to walk correctly before she could be adopted. Meanwhile, Foy and OraLee Hibbard from Prineville, Ore., had read about the Shriner’s Hospital and Adoption Program and became curious to look into it. They took a trip to Portland and explained they were interested in adopting a little blonde haired girl. (They were both brunettes so they thought it would be fun to have a blonde daughter!) The Hibbards were taken to meet Lucille Evelyn who was in traction. The doctors explained she couldn’t be taken home until her facial wound healed and she was retrained to walk, perhaps a year or more away. “However,” they said, “she has a brother that you could adopt today!” So the Hibbards met 5-year-old Thomas Daniel, filled out the papers and took him home that very day. (How simple life was in the 1920s!) Approximately a year later, the big day came when they were allowed to take Rickie home to Prineville! (She always retained a limp, but she never complained!) On their visits to the hospital, the Hibbards learned of the other two families who adopted the other two Roberts children, Martha and George. They contacted those families and opened the door to keep the Roberts family in touch with each other. Martha, nicknamed Micky, her husband, Dick Hayes and their family were frequent visitors to Prineville. And George visited as often as he could. Foy and OraLee had purchased a good piece of farmland in Prineville and had taken out a loan from the bank for some new farm equipment. Life was good. They had two more daughters, Marylee, born in 1925, and Laurelee, born in 1927. Then the Crash came in 1929! The bank called their loan to be paid off immediately which was not possible. The Hibbards suddenly found themselves in dire straits. The bank foreclosed on their farm and all of the equipment. They had to start over with next to nothing and a family of six to feed. Foy and OraLee found an affordable rental farm. Their dairy cows and chickens produced enough milk and eggs to sell to the local creamery and the local grocery. They had enough sheep to shear for wool; enough hogs to provide meat; and enough land to raise corn, potatoes, strawberries and alfalfa for bales of hay. The entire family had to do all of the farm work and chores, except for the “passing through” day laborers that would work for bed and board. Another daughter, Katherine Ann, was born in 1933. Life was very hard in this post-Depression period, but the family motto was “Work is love made visible.” Laurelee and Rickie were especially close. They always seemed to work side by side in whatever chore they were doing. In 1938, the Hibbards had enough money to buy a good-sized farm along McKay Creek. The land was prime and Foy became a successful potato farmer, the first to successfully grow potatoes in Central Oregon. After graduating from Crook County High School in 1938, Rickie went to work for her Uncle Ernest and Aunt Minny Hibbard. They owned an excellent restaurant in Portland, and Rickie was excited to leave Prineville and be a “city girl.” She loved wearing the perky uniform, starched apron and hat required at the restaurant. She also learned how to chitchat and converse with all of the different types of personalities that she met on a daily basis. She also lived with the Hibbards and had the opportunity to learn all about stylish clothes, jewelry, makeup, hairstyles and her trademark high heeled shoes. She left her “farm girl look” in the fields of Prineville for the rest of her life. On September 1, 1939, the Nazis began their conquest of Europe. Portland’s harbor soon became a huge shipyard, producing ships for the Allies. For the first time, they needed women to work in the factories. Thus Rickie became “Rickie the Riveter and Welder.” She could weld better than most men and she felt it important to help with the war effort. Because she was so short, they built her a sturdy bench to stand on to do her work. One thing about being raised on a family farm, everyone learns how to pitch in and work without complaints. In March 1945, her sister Laurelee died, three days after her 18th birthday, from rheumatic fever, which destroyed her heart. This was a difficult time for the entire family. Rickie needed a change of scenery and, in August 1945, she took a job opportunity in Juneau, Alaska. It was there that she met John F. “Jack” Werner. They met walking down the street. It was love at first sight. Goodbye, Alaska! Hello, Colorado! Rickie came to the Werner Ranch at Saguache in the late 1940s. She helped Jack’s sister, Elizabeth, cook for the large hay crews required in those days. They became lifetime friends. She was especially close to Jack’s father, Tault Werner, and family friend, Cy Perkins. Ricky loved the Werner Family, one and all. She was happy to call Saguache her home. In the early 1950s, Jack, Rickie and their son, John, moved to Monte Vista, Colo., for a few years while Jack worked for his brother, Loyal Morgan, in construction work. In 1955, Jack, Rickie and John returned to the ranch, where they built a house. Rickie was happy to call Saguache her home. Son John was the joy of Rickie’s life. John remembers his mother as always dressed to the nines, with high heels and always having a fancy hairdo. For many years, Rickie worked as a waitress at Keck’s Café, and as a store clerk at Smith’s Market in Saguache. For many years, she was very active in the Friday Evening Club and the Saguache Women’s Club. In 1975, Jack and Rickie moved to Farmington, where Jack worked in construction and Rickie purchased a clothing store called Pauline’s Sports Wear. Rickie had many lifetime friendships in the Saguache area as well as Farmington. Rickie was preceded in death by her husband, John F. Werner; both of her parents; sisters, Mary Lee Peeke, Laurelee Hibbard, and Martha Roberts; and brothers, Tom Hibbard and George Roberts. She is survived by her son, John Werner of Saguache; grandson, Coleman Ray Werner of Windsor, Colo.; sister, Kay Edwards of Lake Tahoe, Nev.; and many nieces and nephews. Viewing will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, at Saguache United Methodist Church. Funeral services be at 10 a.m. following the viewing. Pastor James Grunden will officiate. Burial will be at the Hillside Cemetery. Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home 103 East Ute Street Farmington, New Mexico (505)325-8688