Lucile Gayle Callahan was born on November 27, 1924 and passed away November 29, 2021 surrounded by loved ones. She was the youngest of 8 children and liked to tell people the anecdote of how she was the only one of her siblings without a middle name. When she was 20 years old, she met William (Bill) Caldwell Callahan, Jr. After a whirlwind romance of 6 weeks, they married on February 25, 1945. Lucile loved babies and she and Bill had 5 children together: Don, Karen, Tommy, Jimmy, and Joy. She and Bill had 23 wonderful years together until his untimely death in May 1968. After Bill’s death, Lucile went from being a stay-at-home mother, to a single, working mom. Lucile’s children all met and married and had children. Lucile had 13 grandchildren that she showered with love. She would sing to them and loved to have them come spend the night. She would take them out to eat and let them eat ice cream whenever they wanted. She loved to garden and had a green thumb. She would keep albums of pictures of her flowers. She could make anything grow. She also loved cleaning and loved having everything in order. She loved getting together with her family and insisted on taking family pictures. Lucile was often the one to take the picture and had a gift of cutting off everyone’s head. It became the family joke. Tuscaloosa was her birthplace, but she loved her adopted town of Springville, Alabama. She and Bill had lived there for a few years and Lucile moved back after Bill’s death. She was a member of the Springville First United Methodist Church and was a faithful follower of Christ. Lucile loved all babies. It didn’t matter who’s baby it was, she wanted to hold it and love on it. She would take pictures and brag to everyone who would listen about that baby. Lucile loved being active and would walk several miles a day, even well into her eighties. She never saw herself as old. She could outpace most of her grandchildren. She also loved to travel and was always up for an adventure. She was the life of the party.
Lucile is preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Margaret Gayle, siblings, Willard, Sarah, Irene, and Imogene, husband, Bill, sons Don and Jimmy Callahan, niece Gayle Boone, and daughter-in-law Jackie Callahan. She is survived by children Karen Ragsdale, Tommy Callahan, Joy (Wes) Samford, and daughter-in-law, Kathy Callahan. Lucile is also survived by 13 grandchildren: Christy (Dennis) Robbins, Buck (Stephanie) Callahan, Travis (Michelle) Ragsdale, Matt (Gina) Ragsdale, Tabby (Rob) Snell, Billy (Terrie Ann) Callahan, Joey Callahan, Alysia (Steven) Reisman, Brandi (Scott) Churchill, Celeste (David) Romano, Nathan (Kelly) Burttram, Jackson Burttram, and Jeb (Kristen) Burttram. She is also survived by 28 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and other loved ones. Visitation is December 6, 2021 at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home in Trussville, Alabama. Family visitation will begin at 10:00 am, followed by open visitation at 11:00 am. The funeral will follow at noon. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Springville First United Methodist Church.
Monday, December 6, 2021
Starts at 12:00 pm
Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home
Monday, December 6, 2021
Starts at 1:00 pm
Jefferson Memorial Gardens East, Jefferson Memorial Gardens, Trussville
Monday, December 6, 2021
11:00 - 12:00 pm
Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home
Visits: 20
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