Our mother, Lucille Sanford passed away on Tuesday, May 12, at 11:55 AM. Mom had begun to struggle markedly in the Fall of 2019, and by the first of the year we realized that she was not doing well living alone. It was decided to have her move in with our sister, Becky Byron in Sanford, FL. Then in April she moved up with our brother Tim and Sue in Michigan, Sue is a nurse(RN) and was already part of her care giving team. We knew she was declining, not because of any one issue, but thought it would be a fairly slow process. And for a few months it was somewhat slow.
Sunday, May 10th (Mother's Day) she had been able to get up and move around a bit with her walker. But she had weakened and then Monday morning it was obvious that for some reason she was declining very quickly. The family members all joined together with her in Michigan and by Tuesday noon she had passed away. We are very thankful that she was able to be up and around almost to the end and that her passing was peaceful as she simply quit breathing and went to be with the Lord.
Mom is survived by her six children, Greg, Dave, Becky (Byron), Gary, Tim, and Steve, and her sister Millie George. She also had 17 grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren with 4 more soon to arrive.
Mom was raised by her parents, H. Claire and Lois Ames, in upstate New York. Her mother was a very godly woman who took her to Church and raised her in the fear of the Lord. Her father was a hardworking fruit farmer – primarily apples and peaches – along Lake Ontario. She had one older sister named Millie, who went on to become Millie George. Early in her life Mom attended Houghton College along with her sister Millie, and there she met her husband, Dick Sanford from Michigan. Her major was English intending to be a School Teacher. She graduated with Dick and they headed to Chicago for Dick to attend seminary. While in seminary, Dick filled in at a local Czechoslovakian Baptist Church, who eventually asked him to become their full time Pastor, which he did. They served there at Lawndale Emmanuel Baptist Church for 10 years and during that time, Mom gave birth to the three oldest children, Greg, David, and Becky.
After 8 years in the pastorate, Dick felt led of the Lord to go into missions and joined the young New Tribes Mission. This led them to Jersey Shore, PA where New Tribes had a training center. There, Mom eventually had the last three children – Gary, Tim, and Steve – and she raised her family in Jersey Shore where Dad served as a traveling Representative for New Tribes Mission. Most weekends a year, and many times for a week at a time, Dad was away speaking in Churches and Bible Colleges around the country and Mom handled the family back home. She had her hands full with 5 boys and one girl, but she did a great job. All of her children grew up to go into full time missions with New Tribes Mission. By the time Dad passed away all the children had grown up and moved out of the home and were serving the Lord full time.
After Dad developed brain cancer and passed away, Mom continued to live in Jersey Shore, PA at the New Tribes Mission facility where they had served with New Tribes Mission for over 30 years. Soon she realized that there wasn’t a lot for her to do at the facility in Jersey Shore. The leadership of New Tribes Mission offered her to move to the Headquarters in Sanford, FL and serve at the Headquarters. They also suggested that she move into the New Tribes Mission Homes for retired missionaries just blocks from the Headquarters. They felt she would then be ready for when she would want to retire someday – which ended up 25-26 years later (January 2019). She served all those years at the Mission Headquarters as a secretary in the Resource Department and loved her work and ministry there. When she did retire, it was very hard for her to do it because she loved serving! The straw that broke the camel’s back that forced her retirement was a planned update to all new software at the Mission Headquarters that she felt she would never be able to master.
A short period after she moved to Florida – maybe a year or so – she developed serious liver problems. Doctors determined that there wasn’t much they could do other than attempt to do a liver transplant. Her insurance at that time did not cover a transplant so we began to raise funds to be able to have a transplant, needing something like $300,000 for them to do it. God kept her alive though until her 65th birthday at which time we found out that Medicare would cover the cost of a transplant, but she needed to show she could cover the cost of the anti-rejection meds she would need for the rest of her life. The funds that had been raised at that point, to cover the transplant, were repurposed by all the donors to cover the medication, and she had her transplant at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. She did amazingly well and over time was basically back to herself. Her transplant served her incredibly well right up to the end – something like 25 years!
Mom was truly a godly mother. Along with Dick, she greatly impacted her children for the Lord. She lived a very serious Christian and her children watched and learned. She gave herself totally to her family for many years she spent raising all the children. She also served in the New Tribes Mission training facility, mentoring other women who were training to be missionaries and was the Institute bookkeeper for many years. At the same time, she held local Bible studies impacting many women in the Jersey Shore, PA area. Her example truly impacted many.
She will be missed greatly by her family, and by many who considered themselves very close friends. We all are thankful that she didn’t have to suffer at the end of life and easily slipped into the arms of her Heavenly Father which she always looked forward to seeing face-to-face.
FYI: At this time, because of the circumstances of the corona pandemic, we are not able to hold a memorial service. If we did, it would be at the Ethnos360 Homes in Sanford, Fl where she had lived these last 28 years. As you know, all retirement centers are off limits to outsiders at this time making a memorial service impossible. Should the opportunity arise later in the year we may hold a memorial there at the Ethnos360 Homes at that time, and if so, we will post that information here. Thank you for your understanding.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Ethnos360, Attn. Wayumi, 312 W First St, Sanford, FL 32771-1231
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