Lucille Muirhead....In Memory Of

     Lucille Esmond Muirhead went to be with her Lord and Savior in Heaven on Tuesday, December 1, 2015, after dying from age-related causes at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg. She had the pleasure of eating her favorite foods, mashed potatoes and gravy, as part of Monday’s lunch, the last meal that she had. In fact, when she was growing up as a child and someone would ask her what her favorite foods were, Lucille would always say her three favorite vegetables were mashed potatoes, and gravy, and corn. Those were her three favorite vegetables.
     Lucille is survived by her two siblings, Howard Hatcher and his wife Alna of Oakland; Doris Holcomb and her husband Eugene of Elkton; and Lucille's six children David Esmond and his wife Karen of Oakland; Darlene Jones of Tillamook; Lynda Clark of Beaver; Melody Rushing of Roseburg; Laurie Quigley and her husband David of Creswell; and Monte Muirhead of Oakland. She also leaves behind eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren: Sherry (Scott) Vandehey and their children Ashley, Alysse, Christopher, Brooklyn, and Nicholas; Christopher Bowers; Michelle (Cory) Esmond-Vallotton and their children Kaira and Alyria; Jimmy Esmond; Colin (Brittany) Clark and their children Catie and Vincent; Michael (Dorie) Rushing and their children Samantha, Shawn, and Jacob; Lindsey Quigley; and Parker Quigley.
     Lucille Jerene Hatcher was born December 31, 1928, in her grandparents’ Neelys house. When asked years ago where she was born, Lucille would always say Lakeside....not to be be confused with the town of Lakeside. This Lakeside was an area where the Empire District of Coos Bay is now located. But recently when asked where she was born, Lucille would say Marshfield....which is why Marshfield is listed as her place of birth on your memorial service programs. Lucille was born a few hours early from being the New Year’s baby in Coos County, who wasn’t born until several days later.
     Lucille spent her early years living on the family dairy farm at Fairview, east of Coquille. She was a witness to the infamous Bandon fire, which came close to their farm. Because of smoke in the air, Lucille had to release their plow horses “Danny” and “Vinny” from the barn. After the Bandon fire was over, and the CCC boys who had fought the fire had returned to their homes, the landscape around the Hatcher farm looked different. It was covered with sandwiches. Apparently, the CCC boys didn't like the rations they were given...bologna sandwiches wrapped in wax paper...and so they left behind the sandwiches. Lucille's father, Clarence, being the frugal man that he was, went around collecting the sandwiches off the ground for his family.
     The Great Depression forced the Hatcher family to leave the farm and move to Roseburg. Lucille attended junior high school where the former downtown Safeway store was located. They lived in several different homes in east Roseburg, including one on Douglas Street. One day when Lucille was out working in the yard, the National Guard boys came marching by along Douglas Street....this, of course, was during the World War Two era. Lucille was a humble and modest person, and she felt quite embarrassed for them to see her. She didn't like the fact that was barefoot out in the yard when these young men came by.
     Lucille went to live in the Kellogg area and graduated from Elkton High School. She then attended Biola University at its original location in downtown Los Angeles. While there, Lucille attended one of Billy Graham’s first crusades, when Graham, Cliff Barrows, and George Beverly Shea held a nearby revival under a big tent. While at Biola, the female students were told to always carry a Bible with them in public, because a visible Bible back then would presumably protect women from muggers and other wrong-doers.
     At Biola, Lucille met Hoyt Esmond, and in 1949, they married at Roseburg’s First Conservative Baptist Church at its first location inside the old downtown Roseburg Armory. They were planning to become missionaries to India, but an illness kept Hoyt from going to that country. Their son David was born 13 days before Hoyt passed away.
     In 1952, Lucille married Doug Jones, who was Douglas County’s only predator/animal control officer at the time. The couple had three daughters and moved to Tillamook County when Doug obtained employment there.
     In 1962, Lucille married Milo Muirhead and the couple settled in Oakland where they welcomed a daughter and son. Lucillle loved the outdoors and enjoyed taking her family to the coast, where they purchased crabs at the Seafood Grotto in Winchester Bay and took them to the beach to eat. Although, Milo preferred smoked salmon to crab, but being the frugal person that Milo was, he never insisted on buying smoked salmon. However, Lucille and the kids would often make sure everyone got what they wanted, and they would buy a piece of smoked salmon for Milo...sometimes.
     Lucille also enjoyed helping her children with various school projects, whether it involved cooking a dish for a special function or driving her kids to different school events. Lucille's love of animals especially motivated her to become involved in her children's 4-H ans FFA projects. She had an adventerous spirit throughout her life. Lucille was in her mid sixties....before arthritis had taken its toll on her mobility....and would go up to Inner Tube Hill at Diamond Lake Resort. She would lie down on the inner tube and off she went down the slope. Monte, who was next to her, was afraid that she would fall off and hurt herself. But Lucille held on all the way down, yelling with joy along the way.
     Lucille was one of the last surviving charter members of First Conservative Baptist Church (now Wellspring) in Roseburg. Most recently, she was a member of Grace Community Baptist Church in Sutherlin. Her love of the Lord led her to become a Sunday school teacher in her early years, and she later hosted Good News Clubs in her home. She was also a past member of the Fair Oaks and Kellogg Granges.
     Lucille's one desire in life was that her children and their children, and others, would all know the Lord and see her in Heaven.