Lucile Bybee PORTLOCK

PORTLOCK, Lucile Bybee, whose unflinchingly positive attitude and immeasurable patience brightened the lives of everyone she met, died of cancer on October 9, 2009. She was 92. Throughout her long, full life, she never missed an opportunity to make a new friend. She reveled in work as a professional librarian, first at the Norfolk Public Library for 19 years in charge of the Sargeant Memorial Room and then for almost 15 years as a volunteer at the Essex County Public Library. After moving to Tappahannock in 1994, she joined an art class and received accolades and awards for her watercolor paintings of the natural world. She served as a docent at the Essex County Museum and Historical Society and she was a member of the Essex County Democratic Committee. She was a past president and member of the Norfolk chapter of the International Quota Club. Mrs. Portlock was born on May 1, 1917 in Norfolk, Va., and after graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1939, she raised her family in Norfolk with her husband, William Seth Portlock Jr. She always encouraged and supported her children and grandchildren to do what they loved and she beamed when she shared family accomplishments with friends and colleagues. Mrs. Portlock is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Mary Virginia and Stanley Puidokas of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; daughter, Lucy Portlock of St. John, U.S.V.I.; son and daughter-in-law, William Seth Portlock III and Nancy Raybin; and two grandchildren, Sarah Portlock of New York, N.Y. and Nathan Portlock of Philadelphia, Pa. A remembrance and celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, October 18, 2009, 2:30 p.m. at her home in Tappahannock, 417 Prince St., and a graveside service will be held in Norfolk later this fall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Essex County Library at 117 N. Church Lane, Tappahannock, Va. 22460, and The Haven, P.O. Box 1267, Warsaw, Va. 22572.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.