Lucille Almond

Lucille Carter Bowen Almond

Lucille Carter Bowen Almond, 91, of Charlottesville, died Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at Lorien of Bel Air, Maryland, from the long-term effects of a stroke she suffered in May 2003.

She was born in Moreland, Kentucky, on February 6, 1918, to Galton Marshall and Lula Rowe Wade Carter. In addition to her parents, Lucille was preceded in death by an infant son, Terry Lon Bowen; her brothers, Jess Childress and Cleo Marshall Carter of Kentucky; and a sister, Hazel Feistritzer, also of Kentucky. Lucille was also preceded in death by two husbands, Oscar N. Bowen, who died on June 19, 1967, and Herman Smith Almond, who died on January 3, 1999.

Survivors include her daughter, Pamela Bowen Barrett and her husband, Richard Paul, of Bel Air, Maryland; her grandchildren, Brandon Paul Barrett of Charlottesville, Lesley Carter Barrett Smith of Abingdon, Maryland and her husband, Jason; as well as her great-grandson, Grant Barrett Smith of Abingdon, Maryland.

Lucille attended Western Kentucky University where she received a Teaching Certificate in 1938, after which she began her long and rewarding career as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Needmore, Kentucky. After moving to Virginia in the early 1940's she taught several years at Red Hill Elementary School in Crozet. Lucille earned her Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Virginia and her Master's Degree in the Teaching of English from the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia. She moved from Red Hill to the brand new Albemarle High School when it opened and taught English and Social Studies there until she moved to Lane High School in 1962. Lucille taught English and was Chair of the English Department at Lane, and subsequently Charlottesville High School until she retired in 1987.

Lucille was a member of The First Presbyterian Church for 57 years. She was also a member of the Beta Nu Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority and was active with the Miller Center.

Lucille loved University of Virginia basketball and the Redskins football team. Before macular degeneration stole her eyesight, she read voraciously. She enjoyed complicated fiction and political non-fiction. She loved playing bridge and taught herself needlepoint. Even when she could no longer see, she kept up her "reading" with books on tape. Lucille's favorite avocation, however, was teaching English to juniors at Charlottesville High School. She taught until she was 70, and would have taught longer had her eyesight allowed.

The family would like to thank the assisted living staff at Lorien of Bel Air who cared for Lucille for over six years.

A funeral service will be held at The First Presbyterian Church Chapel at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 31, 2009, conducted by the Reverend Gavin Meek. The family will receive friends at the church prior to the ceremony from 1 until 2 p.m. Interment will follow at Monticello Memory Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Discovery Eye Foundation Research, 101 The City Drive South, Building 55, 2nd Floor, Orange, CA 92868. The Foundation also receives donations through the following website: https://www.discoveryeye.org. The Discovery Eye Foundation is dedicated to fighting retinal and corneal blindness.

Friends may send condolences to the family at www.hillandwood.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.