Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9501060001
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CLAUDINE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Others recall her as the class leader and biology major at Randolph-Macon Women's College.
The 55-year-old volunteer had an impressive start in life, and she just keeps going.
"It is kind of hard to talk about her get-up-and-go, because while we are talking, she has already gotten up and gone,'' says friend Matilda Bradshaw.
It seemed natural for little Lucy Russell Ellett to grow up and become an active conservationist and community leader.
When recently she accepted the Garden Club of America Zone VII Conservation Award in Kentucky, friends said it was a well-deserved honor.
Ellett, a member of the Mill Mountain Garden Club, says she volunteers because she loves life and preserving the environment.
Friends say Ellett is an exceptional person - an unsung hero who takes the helm of a committee and works hard to get things done.
The fruits of her labor are speckled throughout the Roanoke Valley: the recycling bins sitting along neighborhood curbs; the wildflower garden on Mill Mountain; and the Science Museum, which she helped bring to Center in the Square. The list goes on.
"I have known her for a long time, and she has always been this way," says Emily Woodrum, president of the Mill Mountain Garden Club. "She is enthusiastic, and she follows through on anything she undertakes.''
Longtime friend Spuzzie Duckwall says Ellett was always a whiz at managing her time and planning ahead.
"I remember when we were in college together and we had to take a comprehensive exam," Duckwall says. "Everyone started cramming to get in what we should have learned in the last four years. But not Lucy. She went to bed at 9:30 the night before the exam. She had been studying all along."
A drive down a well-worn dirt road off bustling Brandon Avenue brings visitors onto Ellett's land and into her world. In an instant, city meets country in an ironic contrast.
A look at the gnarled trees and the bright blue flickers of a bluebird's wings gives one a reason for her conservation efforts.
"We don't want to let this beautiful place just slip away," she says of her efforts to beautify the valley.
For about 10 years, she worked to start a recycling program in the valley. Her perseverance resulted in four recycling drop-off centers that collect about 217 tons of trash per month.
"Preservation is something she just stands for," says Tina Kemper, another friend. "She is the type of person who just hangs in there and works, works, works. Her work has gone on for years and years."
Ellett and her husband, Frank, a farmer and businessman, reared two children - Russ and Sinclair. Now that her children are grown, Ellett has dedicated her life to volunteering.
"I think people have become educated about the problems, and it just takes a while for all of us to come around," she says, walking along a trail on her family's 83-acre farm. "We just take so much for granted."
People who think garden clubs are only for arranging flowers should note that Ellett rarely has enough time for that kind of fun.
"Sometimes, I wish that I could have the time to do that," Ellett says.
But when other garden club members compete in flower shows, Ellett cheers them on.
"When things don't go our way, she always says that our arrangements were the best anyway,'' says Bradshaw, who is also a garden club member. "That's just the type of person she is."
Volunteering is a way of life for Ellett. People respect her and nominate her for boards and committees because they know she will get the job done.
"She is just interested in this community. She has a lot of capabilities, and she has proven herself," Duckwall says. "She gets asked to do things, and she does them well."
People don't mind following Ellett.
"She is always the leader - always up front in such a delightful way that most people don't notice most of the time," Bradshaw says.
Ellett is a fixture in the community. While people talk about the origin of her spirit, she's busy making phone calls and writing letters. She's doing things.
"I am not the type to just sit around doing nothing or being bored," Ellett says. "In fact, I don't remember ever being bored."
by CNB