Lucinda (Luke) Peiffer left us on February 4, 2025, to be with the Lord.  This was just a week before she would have celebrated her 101st year old birthday.  She was born on February 11, 1924.  Her parents were William John Luke and Lucinda Hawkins.

She was predeceased by her 5 brothers and sisters, Alfred Luke, Victor Luke, Doris Marion (Luke) Gresens, and twins Bobby Krug and Annabelle (Krug) Wilson.

Lucinda grew up in Harvey, Illinois just outside of Chicago.  It was a tough time to grow up, many years with the depression hitting the family hard.  Lucinda and Doris borrowed the neighbors row boat to catch perch and sunfish, while her older brothers gathered bull frogs.  The frog legs and fish supplied many a meal.

While in High School, she took machine tool classes so she would have guaranteed employment upon graduation.  She worked for the war effort in a nearby factory making parts for airplane engines, using machine lathes, horizontal and vertical milling machines and large grinders.  After the war, her sister moved east and married William Gresens, a cousin of the Peiffer's.  At the wedding, she was invited to visit Maine, where she stayed with her future husband's parents.  That first morning, as she came down stairs, it was a mutual love at first sight, for both her and her future husband, Lawrence Joseph Peiffer Jr.  They got married about a month later, bought land on Kettle Cove Road, and started to build their own home.  Joe would measure, mark and cut every stick of wood with a hand saw.  No power tools.  Then Lucinda would nail each board with a few nails into each stud.  No plywood, all boards.  It took about 2 years for them to be able to move in while they continued finishing off the interior.  In that time, their first born was Lucinda Kay (Peiffer) Brennan in 1949.  Then along came Lawrence J. Peiffer 3rd, in 1953.

Lucinda was well known for her inventiveness and creativity.  As her children grew, she had more time for her crafts.  Her children set up a card table near the roads edge and sold Lucinda's paintings, miniature paintings on miniature easels (years before the miniatures became popular), painting rocks for door stops, paper weights and pet rocks (again, years before they became popular).  She made window dressings/decorations with sea-glass.  She made a wide variety of jewelry.  During the holidays, she made Christmas wreaths and was hired to make a rope garland, 150 feet long to dress the front of the local IGA.  Another story was her husband put her name on a single chance to win a brand new 1965 Red Rambler at the IGA…  and she actually won it in a New England wide drawing.

She was employed over the years to clean houses, do yard work, work on a truck farm (variety of vegetables), planting, weeding, harvesting, and driving the tractors.  She worked in the local School Kitchen as a cook, preparing meals for the student body.  She became a school bus driver for eleven years and won the State Champion Bus Rodeo Contest.  She was a seamstress, making all of the costumes for her daughter's dance classes, and there were many.  She made her own gowns for Eastern Star.  She was hired to re-upholster lampshades.  She reupholstered furniture.  She caned chairs.  She hooked rugs, braided rugs, knit, made quilts, did needle point, crocheted, darned socks and made clothes for her kids. She loved to paint with oils, water colors and acrylics.  She especially enjoyed painting snow scenes and seascapes.

She had a love for growing plants and had a green thumb.  She would often see a plant and take a snipping of it and root it.  She was a member of the local Garden Club for many years.  She was an active member of the Eastern Star for many years.  She loved to cook and was well known for her blueberry pies at Church functions.  She enjoyed helping her Church with the suppers and helped by making lobster rolls… so there was a profit to be seen.  Her mother-in-law was the originator of the lobster roll.  Lucinda donated her time to the Barron Center and a number of nursing homes, helping where she could.  She always wanted to be a nurse.  She had an uplifting spirit and a great sense of humor.  She was a strong woman with her own type of wisdom and of great Faith.

Needless to say, Lucinda, in her nearly 101 years, has done many things and with a degree of quality and expertise. She will surely be missed but always remembered by her daughter, Lucinda Kay (Peiffer) Brennan and son, Lawrence J. Peiffer 3rd and wife, Pamela (Smith) Peiffer; grandson Lawrence J. Peiffer 4th and ex-spouse Lila Hamilton, great grandchildren, Lawrence J. Peiffer 5th, Miles R. Peiffer; grandson, Andrew M. Peiffer; grandson, Ryan Brennan and spouse, Jennifer; great grandchildren, Kellan and Connell; granddaughter, Sarah (Brennan) LaPointe and husband Ryan LaPointe and great granddaughter, Lucinda Rose LaPointe.

Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by a funeral service at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 11th, at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland.