By MARG STORK
BLANCHE Lillian Lucas, a popular Noble Park resident, always had her door open for family and friends.
A staunchly independent woman, Miss Lucas remained in the family home — with the help of sister Doreen and niece Gaynor — until her death, aged 87.
Miss Lucas was born in Katamatite, Victoria, to Walter Leslie Lucas and Amelia May Lucas. She was the fourth child in a family of 11.
Blanche’s early school days were spent in Yarrawonga. When she was a teenager her parents lived in Hampton Park for a short time before settling permanently in Noble Park.
Neither Miss Lucas or her brother Kevin married, both staying in Noble Park with their parents until their deaths. In 1966, after her sister Wilma died in a car crash, she relinquished her job as a machinist to care for Wilma’s three children — Gaynor, Robyn and Gavin — until their father remarried four years later.
Gaynor and Gavin spent further years living with them, at a later stage. The family link was so close, Gavin said, their children became like grandchildren to Miss Lucas.
“Blanche never missed their birthdays or special occasions,” he said.
About 100 family members and friends paid tribute to Miss Lucas at her funeral service in the Boyd chapel at the Springvale Botanical Gardens.
Her ashes will be interred in the Springvale Botanical Gardens.
