Lucille Dillard, 97, of Powell, OH, and formerly of Leland and Greenville, MS, passed away on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at Ganzhorn Suites in Powell, Ohio. Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at First Baptist Church in Greenville. There will be a visitation from 1:00 p.m. until the service time at the church. Burial will be in the Greenville Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Boone Funeral Home, Greenville.
Lucille grew up in Osceola, Arkansas. When she was 13 years old, she saw a boy walking down the street. She thought he was handsome and asked someone who he was. Within weeks Lucille and John Dillard were dating.
Lucille loved high school. She was voted Greenest Freshman, Silliest Sophomore, Jolliest Junior, Cutest, Most Beautiful, and Homecoming Queen. She was a cheerleader. She was also a fierce basketball player. Occasionally, she would get a little too riled up on the court. The coach would bench her. One of her favorite memories was of the crowd chanting, “Put Little Number Three back in there!”
Lucille graduated from high school at 16 and went to work as a telephone operator for Southern Bell. She admitted to occasionally listening in on conversations if something juicy was going on.
John and Lucille eloped when they were 19 and 18. Their only child, Carolyn, arrived 5 years later. In 1955, John bought a farm in the Delta, and they moved to Leland, Mississippi. Lucille could always be counted on to be Room Mother. She made many early morning runs to Shipley’s to provide hot, fresh doughnuts for every event.
When Carolyn went to Ole Miss, John and Lucille became ardent Ole Miss fans. They remained so, long after Carolyn’s graduation, buying a condo in Oxford and traveling to many bowl games.
Lucille and John were delighted when the grandchildren started to arrive. They made frequent visits and took them on memorable trips.
When John turned the farming operation over to his grandson, Paul Dees, John and Lucille decided to move to Greenville. People asked if they were going to downsize. John said, “No, we are buying a bigger house so we can have lots of parties.” And they did. Lucille would think nothing of deciding at 4:00 pm to ask 5 couples for dinner at 6:00. She would whip around town picking up food and beverages, and be entertaining with style at 5:55. They also did an annual backyard catfish fry. This entailed a live band and the purchase of an outdoor dance floor.
They made wonderful friends in Greenville. One dinner group called themselves The Wild Bunch. When they hit their eighties, someone suggested they needed to rename themselves The Mild Bunch.
Lucille and John enjoyed golfing with each other and with friends. They took a lot of trips with the Mississippi Golf Association, which traveled all over the country. Frequently, they won their flight and had many trophies (which they never displayed) to prove it. Lucille was the president of the Ladies Golf Association in Greenville. She also served in that capacity for the Colonial Garden Club.
Lucille and John had been married 72 years when he passed away in 2018. Lucille moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 2021 to be closer to her daughter and granddaughters, their spouses, and five great-grandchildren.
Lucille is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Gerity (Bill); granddaughters, Molly Finney (Vince) and their sons, Blake and Jackson, Emily Plessinger (Justin), and their children, Logan, Jacob, and Maggie all from Columbus, Ohio; grandson, Paul Dees (Marney) and their daughters, Morgan and Madeline all from Greenville, MS; her sister-in-law, Edith Dillard; her nieces, Maureen Johnson, Linda Dillard, Rita Ann Johnson, and nephew, Bill Dillard.
She is predeceased by her parents, Louis and Faye Johnson; her beloved brother, James Reeder Johnson; and her sister-in-law, Frances Ann Johnson.
Pallbearers are Paul Dees, Bill Gerity, Vince Finney, Jackson Finney, Blake Finney, and Justin Plessinger. Honorary pallbearers are Conrad Longfellow, Bob Robinson, and Keith King.