Obituary of Lucille Waisanen Bicknell

Lucille Waisanen Bicknell March 17, 1933 - May 9, 2021 Lucille W Bicknell passed away peacefully the morning of March 9, 2021 at Independence Village in Midland, MI. Lucille was 88-years old. Lucille was born during the Great Depression to the late Amanda Konsti Waisanen and Albert Waisanen in Hancock, MI. She graduated from Hancock High School in 1950 and worked hard to put herself through Michigan Technological University when the ratio of men to women was 40 to 1. She earned a BS in Chemistry in 1954, moved to Midland, MI, and went to work for Dow Chemical Company. Lucille met the late Robyn D Bicknell in 1954 and the couple married in 1955. In 1958, Lucille and Robyn built their house at 1309 Airfield Lane with a carpenter, according to an architectural plan by Robyn’s father, the late Walter H Bicknell of Denver. Lucille lived there until early January 2021. The couple were charter members of the United Church of Christ Midland where Lucille continued to be an active member well into 2020. When Robyn passed away in 1980, Lucille put their three children through college with frugality and wise investments. Lucille was fiercely independent. She was committed to equity across gender and race, dedicated to saving the planet through reuse and recycling, and she loved garage sales. She was an excellent seamstress, a voracious reader, and an active volunteer at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library. She loved to debate issues of importance to her and to “agitate” for change. Lucille loved her nickname “Trouble”, to be outrageous, and to laugh. She found joy and friendship through the Brave, Trendy, and Reliable Seniors (BRATS) in Red Hats as Queen Booby Bird later in life. And yes, she had a tiny bird tattoo on that part of her anatomy. She got the tattoo at age 63 after a lumpectomy and radiation for breast cancer. Lucille is survived by her sister, Dorothy Mican, sons Jon H and Jay W Bicknell, daughter Tracy Bicknell-Holmes, daughter-in-law Chris Stephens Bicknell, son-in-law Stephen L Holmes, two grandchildren she adored, Ashleigh and Jessica Bicknell, sister- and brother-in-law Joan and Charles Reid, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews scattered throughout the United States. An outside Celebration of Life will be held on June 17, 2021 at 11:00am at the United Church of Christ, 4100 Chestnut Hill Dr, Midland, MI 48642 with the Reverend Roger Pancost officiating. Lucille’s family will receive visitors beginning at 10:00am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution in the name of Lucille W Bicknell to the Friends of the Grace A Dow Memorial Library at 1710 W. St. Andrews Rd. Midland, MI 48640 or online at https://www.gadml.org/friends To sign online guestbook, visit www.hyattewald.com