[Keith Norrington]

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Mrs. Lucy Miller Burks Stoll, 89, on Saturday morning, March 22nd after a lengthy illness. Many on this message board know Lucy through the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen and from numerous trips aboard the DELTA QUEEN through the years. Lucy was the widow of Capt. C.W. Stoll, who died on December 10, 2001.

It was my great pleasure and privilege to have known Lucy from the time I was a teenager. She and C.W. married in 1971, C.W.'s first wife Marijane having passed on in 1969. Lucy was loved by multitudes and was always a gracious hostess to all who visited Rock Hill, the 1832 Antebellum mansion on the bluff overlooking the Ohio here at Louisville. Long remembered will be the festive parties each year after the steamboat race between the Belle and DQ.

A native of Troy / Elsberry, Missouri, Lucy was active in her Presbyterian Church, PEO, Kentucky Opera Association, The Louisville Orchestra and various other endeavors. She and C.W. enjoyed many trips abroad and kept a very full schedule of activities for many years. Lucy has been a loyal benefactor of the Howard Steamboat Museum, generously providing for the operation of the museum and its programs.

Visitation will be held at Pearson's Funeral Home, 149 Breckenridge Lane, Louisville, from 4:00 until 8:00 PM on Tuesday, with the funeral service at noon on Wednesday. The telephone number is 502-896-0349. The website is www.pearsonfuneralhome.com which contains the full obituary as well as a map and driving directions from various parts of the city.

I'm really going to miss that beautiful and classy lady with the gorgeous white hair, but I am so very thankful for the many wonderful memories of our longtime friendship which spanned nearly four decades, and for her many kindnesses. She was the epitome of elegance, but also very down-to-earth and had a wonderful sense of humor. Until we all meet again on the distant shore of a shining river, may she rest in peace.

Attached herewith, I took the first image of Lucy, with daughters Gerry Burks Swarts and Susan Burks in front of Rock Hill, in April, 2002. The middle view was taken at the museum on Sunday, October 23, 2005, at the dedication of the Capt. C.W. Stoll Memorial Bookcase and Exhibit. Judy Patsch snapped the third view on the veranda at Rock Hill in July of 2001.