Lucille Elliott, known for her great cooking, dies at 92

LUCILLE ELLIOTT was a classy dresser, always looking "sharp."

"Sharp," in fact, was a favorite word of hers: "They have a sharp house. He has a sharp car. That's a sharp hat."

And Lucille fit the definition of sharp. She didn't leave the house without a stylish dress, matching accessories, and hat.

"She was a very sophisticated woman," said her niece, Cheryl Stovall-Williams. "She had a high regard for herself and her family. And she was fussy about who her family associated with."

Lucille Elliott, a 30-year employee of Girard College, a dedicated member of Bright Hope Baptist Church and loving matriarch of her family, died Dec. 4. She was 92 and lived in Overbrook.

She was born in Columbia, S.C., the oldest of the 10 children of Isabelle and Willie Joyner. She received her early education there and came to Philadelphia in 1944.

Shortly after her arrival, she joined Bright Hope Baptist where she was a member of the Reapers Club, the Willing Workers Ministry and other church activities.

She was married for about 50 years to Lloyd Elliott. He died in 1993.

Lucille's Sunday dinners were a major family event. She was a superior cook, and her banana pudding, cakes, turkeys, hams and potato salad were legendary.

For her 90th birthday, the family took her to the Waterworks restaurant.

Picking a good restaurant for her was important, because she wouldn't put up with a mediocre eatery.

When she and other family members returned from a brother's funeral in South Carolina, she said she was hungry. "But don't take me to any fast-food restaurants," she ordered.

She wanted a sit-down meal, so they wound up at the Olive Garden on City Avenue.

"She liked fine things," her niece said. "She had a nice meal and took a glass of wine. She was happy."

When the younger family members would be going out, she would say, "Think about me while you're having a good time."

Lucille is survived by her son, Willie Elliott Jr., an employee of the Julian V. Hawkins Funeral Home, and two brothers, Parnell and Eddie.

Services: 10 a.m. today at Bright Hope Baptist Church, 12th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala-Cynwyd. *