Lucy Cyrilla (Grady) Bolt-Gilliland passed away on Monday, December 5, 2016 at Redbud Village in Plainville, Kansas at the age of 99. She was born on September 17, 1917 in Plainville to the late John and Lucy (Weber) Grady. Having lost her 3 sisters and brother to the flu in 1919, she grew up an only child on the farm in Rooks County. When she started school, her father built a small house in Plainville so she and her mother could live in town during the week, returning to the farm on weekends. After graduating high school she attended Marymount College in Salina, Kansas for one year.
Lucy was united in marriage to Omar Bolt on June 9, 1945. He brought two sons to the family, Bob and Don. Omar passed away in November 1971. In September 1974 she was married to Harold “Ike” Gilliland. He brought three children to the family, Ron, Barry, and Carolyn. Ike passed away in October 1976. She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Sacred Heart Guild, Daughters of Isabella, Rooks County Health Center Auxiliary, Priscilla Art Club, and Alpha Gamma ESA.
As a young girl, Lucy learned to play violin and piano. By the age of ten she was playing the pipe organ in church. She also played for Glee Club and the orchestra in high school. At the age of 12 her mother passed away, leaving her to work and take care of herself and her father.
She worked at the dime store, the telephone office, Plainville State Bank, and the CO-OP. In later years she enjoyed traveling and felt blessed to have seen so many places, many of them with Ike, which included Nassau, Canary Islands, Germany, Austria, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Portugal, Africa, Canada, and many states including Alaska and Hawaii.
Lucy is survived by her step-son Barry Gilliland and wife Donna of Plainville; step-daughter Carolyn Metcalf and husband Don of Plainville; daughter-in-law Mary Lou Gilliland of Plainville; 16 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents John and Lucy Grady; husbands Omar Bolt and Ike Gilliland; step-sons Bob Bolt, Don Bolt, and Ron Gilliland; three sisters and one brother.
The writer Paul reminds us, “These three remain: faith, hope, and love.” Lucy was a woman of strong faith, eternal hope, and abiding love. Her own life was a testimony that indeed, “The greatest of these is love.”
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Plainville. Burial will follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2:00-4:00 pm on Friday at the funeral home with Rosary at 3:00 pm; and from 6:00-8:00 pm at the church with Vigil at 7:00 pm.