Former PTA head keeps full schedule

By BILL CLARK (The Columbia Daily Tribune)

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 1:45 pm

Picture of Lillian by Charley Blackmore, Saturday, October 8, 2011 at her daughter, Sharon's 50th reunion of the 1961 Kewpies

Lillian Ricketts was the president of the Hickman High School Parent-Teacher Association during the 1955-56 school year, and she had a nagging problem.

Her son, David, was a senior, and she didn’t want him involved with the graduation-night mischief that prevailed in the mid-20th century.

Another PTA member had said St. Louis schools, often involved in serious conflict on graduation night, had found a way to dial down the heat — by holding all-night parties.

So it was off to St. Louis for a regional PTA officers’ meeting for Lillian — and the rest is history.

Lillian went to her pastor, the Rev. C.E. Lemmons at First Christian Church, and arranged use of the recreation room for the 197 graduates. She drew together a strong committee, appointed the possible student mischief-makers as committee heads, sold the graduates on the idea that here was where they wanted to be, rewarded them with a sunrise breakfast and sent them home happy.

“I remember putting Jack Estes in charge of decorations,” Lillian said. “Good move.”

The all-night party became an immediate hit. It outgrew the church in a decade, joined in the mid-1970s with Rock Bridge and moved into the Hearnes Center, where it will be held again tomorrow evening.

That Lillian took the bull by the horns comes as no surprise. She’ll be 93 in June, and Ol’ Clark had to make an appointment to catch her after her weekly noon bridge date at the Columbia Country Club. She plays bridge twice a week in Columbia, driving herself from her Hallsville-area farm.

She spent that day at home as the hostess for Aquatic Day at her 4-acre lake.

For the past 27 years, the Rickettses have shared their lake with the fourth-grade classes at Hallsville. The all-day affair is filled with water safety courses, an art show, fishing, food and fun — all co-sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and, for the past 26 years, coordinated by Sherri Bridewell.

Lillian was born in Fair Grove and graduated from high school in 1936, two years before Frank Graham, who, like Lillian, has been a major contributor to the growth and success of Columbia.

Her high school algebra teacher was Ralph Ricketts, a local guy. Ralph had come to the University of Missouri but dropped out for financial reasons.

Teaching gave him the funds to return to school. Lillian spent a year in beauty school in Kansas City, and in 1937, they came to Columbia together as husband and wife.

Ralph took his degree in agricultural engineering to Cape Girardeau for three years with the Civilian Conservation Corps, then returned to MU in 1946, where he remained until retiring in 1970.

The couple had two children: David, who enjoyed a career as a U.S. Navy officer, and Sharon, a 1961 Hickman graduate looking forward to her 50-year class reunion this summer.

In 1966, the Ricketts’ purchased the vintage Roy Roberts farm west of Hallsville. They became deeply involved with Red Top Christian Church, and for most of the past 46 years, Lillian has been the pianist; then, when she bought an organ, she became the organist, sharing the duty with others along the way.

At 93, she’s back at the organ every Sunday.

She has made one concession. For years, she was a cook for the church’s annual smorgasbord. “Now I supervise — and eat,” she said. “Others do the heavy work.”

Her husband died in 2005, but Lillian has no plans to leave her home and her lake. Her grandson, Brad, lives nearby and looks in on occasion — trying to check on Grandma when she’s not at the hairdresser, playing bridge or practicing the organ.

So — to all you Kewpies and Bruins at Hearnes tomorrow night — let’s hear three cheers for Lillian Ricketts. It is she who made your night a reality.

Bill Clark’s columns appear Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 474-4510.

(Updated by Charley Blackmore, March 8, 2015)

Lillian passed away on Monday, March 10, 2014 at her home in Hallsville, she was 95.

Lillian had two children both Kewpies. Her son David was in the Class of 1956. David passed away September 17, 2007 in Lewisburg, WV. And her daughter Sharon was in the Class of 1961 and lives in Belton, MO.