Lucile Stevens

A native of West Asheville and a life long member of Calvary Baptist Church, she attended Mills River High School, Fruitland Boarding School, and Mars Hill College where she majored in Art. When she was only 16 years old, she assumed the role of surrogate mother to her family of 10 siblings after her own mother passed away.

Her father had moved the family to a Mills River farm just before the Great Depression where they learned the hard values of loving and living together.

She moved back to West Asheville in 1932 where she started her own business, which became the beauty shops in the Hotel Asheville, the Manor, and the Grove Park Inn. In those times, a beauty shop was a place to make ladies look beautiful and the finer hotels were required to have a beauty shop on the premises. She was an early member of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority and of the American Business Women’s’ Association.

Lucile (Aunt Lulu) Stevens is fondly remembered by the progeny of her extended family as the “Commander & Chief”, the “Matriarch”, and the “Old Dragon”. That last sobriquet came from Melinda or Helen (they each accuse the other) when they returned from an unsuccessful foray into the kitchen at Twin Pines in search of some fried chicken for several hungry cousins who were tired of the grown ups taking too long to talk instead of serving lunch. It seems that when they slipped into the kitchen, there stood Aunt Lulu, against the stove, guarding the fried chicken, like an old dragon.”

Those family gatherings were one of the loves of her life and there were rarely fewer than fifty assorted aunts, uncles, cousins, boy & girl friends, and guests. There never was a stranger there because when anyone showed up who was new they were immediately set to a task by Lulu where they knew the tomatoes they were slicing just had to be the absolutely most important part of the entire meal. The kids ate, sitting on the inside stair case and you did not get a seat at the main table until you were an adult; and you might not have room even then.

Lucile loved to picnic at the Pink Beds, square dance at Castleberrys Ranch, and dine with friends at the Patio or the Sky Club.

There was usually singing in the kitchen when any size crowd was present at Twin Pines with one of the favorites being a solo performance of “Hula Lou”.

The two main heroes of her life were her husband Samuel C. Stevens and her father Fines Bertram Ingle, a West Asheville businessman. Both of them have preceded her and she is with them now in the glory of eternal youth and happiness.

Her passing is grieved and celebrated by her daughter, Laura Stevens Henderson Gentry and her husband George Alexander Gentry and son, Samuel McDowell Stevens and his wife Judith Levi Stevens; her grandchildren James Steven Henderson, Malia Angelique Stevens, 2LT Tia Melinda Stevens Curtis and her husband 1LT Stuart Dean Curtis, and Laura Suzanne Stevens; one great grand child enroute; and countless cousins, nieces, nephews, and loved ones.

Graveside services will be at 11:00 am Monday at Green Hills Cemetery with the Rev. Dr. Buddy Corbin officiating.

Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church, 531 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806.