Lucy Haacke, a St. James resident of 50 years, will celebrate her 90th birthday at the Methodist Church on Saturday.

A St. James resident will be celebrating her 90th birthday on August 4. Lucy Haacke, a resident of 50 years in the St. James community, will be celebrating 90 years of experiences with family and friends.

Born in 1920, Haacke grew up with her three sisters and her parents. “We came here in 1958. My parents moved here and I came down,” Haacke explained. It was after her move to St. James that she met Bill Haacke, who she would marry that same year. Bill worked in construction and the two would have many memories during their marriage. “He went to South America for six months. He worked there with the oil.” It was during this time that Lucy would volunteer her time at the Missouri Veterans Home.

“Hospice just got started, taking care of the terminally ill cancer patients,” Haacke says. Helping people in need was an important part of her life, so she decided to volunteer time and energy to caring for patients and improving the quality of life for the veterans of St. James. “I volunteered at the nursing home for 13 years. I enjoyed that. I would go around and check with all of the patients.”

She dedicated her time volunteering in the area while her husband, who was a mason, continued his construction work in the area. Lucy was named matron in the Eastern Star in 1968 for her work with Bill. “I was made a matron of the Eastern Star. Bill was a mason and I really enjoyed it.”

Bill passed away in 1984, leaving Lucy to continue her work at the Veterans Home. Although the two didn’t have any children, Lucy took it upon herself to continue in the care of others in the community and enjoyed all of the experiences that came with her volunteer work. She explained that one of her fondest memories of the Veterans Home was a trip that was given to the volunteers. “At the Veterans Home, they took us to the ball park to see the Cardinals play. They had lunch for us and it was a lot of fun.” She said that her experience with caring for people has been a positive one, and has allowed her to give back.

Now, Lucy will have another milestone in her long life as she celebrates her 90th birthday. “I have three sisters who are in their 80s. I guess that I am ahead of them now,” Haacke joked. Family and friends will gather at the Methodist Church on July 31 to celebrate another amazing birthday for Haacke, who is overjoyed about another big year. Her life experiences have taught her one big lesson for living a long and successful life, “Just do what you have to. Everything else works out.” Friends, family, and the community are encouraged to wish Haacke a happy birthday this week.