M ost folks when they get past 80 are supposed to be content to recall the good old days and let the younger generation take care of the present. But Mrs. Lucy Red mond of Los Angeles is one of these past-80-people that just doesn’t fall into the conventional way of things. Close friends say she is a rugged pio neer that has patterned her life on a work-hard-never-complain, trust God for strength formula. A parking lot attendant in down town Los Angeles with open admira tion recently said, “ This Mrs. Red mond beats anything I’ve ever run across. Drives all the way in from Glendale every day through heavy freeway traffic that frightens off a lot of men—half her age. She got a car with an automatic gear shift a year ago and to break herself in on the new system she just tooled down the freeway to work as usual.” Mrs. Redmond is an old hand at meeting new situations. Shortly after the turn of the century her husband died leaving her with four children. One son, a top atomic research scien tist, recalls how his mother held the family together by hard work and careful planning. “ Our fondest mem ory of those days,” he says, “ was breakfast when Mom would cook a big pot of corn meal mush. That’s all we had but I think those were the best meals of my life.” A neighbor gave Mrs. Redmond a rifle and taught her to shoot. And often while the water was heating for the pot of mush the children would listen for the crack of a rifle shot. And when they heard one they knew it meant rabbit for supper. Converted in 1908, Mrs. Redmond has since operated a mission, worked on five Indian reservations, worked in the personnel office of Bullocks (one of Los Angeles’ better department stores, where she recalls hiring young Louis Evans, now minister at large for the Presbyterian Church, USA), served with the famous Torrey-Alex ander evangelistic team, the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles (as secretary to Dr. Louis T. Talbot) and the King’s Business magazine (for 10 years as editorial assistant and page editor). This summer, at 81, this grand old warrior of the faith is retiring. But those who know her best have the feeling there will be no real re tirement for the durable Mrs. Red mond.
On 80th birthday, Mrs. Lucy Redmond was feted by her many friends in the Los Angeles area. Above are Mrs. Redmond, daughter Gloria Hansen and Mrs. Lyman Ste wart, widow of the founder and president of the huge Union Oil Company. Stewart gave most of the money to start the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in 1908.
JULY, 1955
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