Lucille Ost
October 1, 1937 – February 11, 2024
Lucille Magdalene (Evans) Ost of Oxford, FL, formerly of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, died age 86 in Oxford, on February 11, 2024.
She was predeceased by her parents and sisters Rosemary Liparato and Janice Evans. She is survived by her husband of sixty-five years, Ronald J. Ost; four children, Ronald K. Ost (Amy), Lindy Sullivan, Karen Kelly (Dominic), Suzanne McVay (Dan); and nine grandchildren, Caroline and James Ost; Kyle, Matt, and Tyler Sullivan; Devin and Trevor Kelly; and Breanna and Taylor McVay.
Mrs. Ost was born October 1, 1937, in Summit Hill, PA. She graduated from Marian Catholic High School and Sacred Heart School of Nursing. She later received a bachelor’s degree cum laude in Education from East Stroudsburg State College, and a master’s Equivalent Certificate from Lehigh University. She worked as a registered nurse at Sacred Heart and St. Luke’s Hospitals and served twenty-six years as a school nurse for the Bethlehem Area School District, primarily at Marvine, Hanover, and Clearview Elementary Schools, and at Liberty High School.
She was a tireless advocate for the school nursing profession and mentor to many in it. She was an activist on student health issues such as early audio screening and pre-natal care and parenting classes for pregnant teenagers and was instrumental in the creation of an in-school Resource Room to address students’ social, emotional, and health needs. Over the years her health room was filled with appreciative student volunteers, the truly sick, and others seeking refuge from the classroom, one of whom later wrote to her fondly, “You sent me home when I was sick and back to class when I wasn’t.”
A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Lucille had an irreverent sense of humor and enjoyed traveling, bowling, and golfing. Blessed with a beautiful voice, her lifelong passion was singing, and she was active in church choir, both at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bethlehem, PA and St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Wildwood, FL. She also volunteered in Eucharistic Ministry at St. Vincent de Paul.
A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Wildwood, FL at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 20th, and a graveside service will be held Saturday, May 18th at Bethlehem Memorial Park in Bethlehem, PA at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
