Rhea Lancaster earned the title Good Friend

When Rhea Lancaster died last week, the original death notice described her as a former schoolteacher. People are always so much more than what they do for a living, and Mrs. Lancaster was no exception. The reader will note that even as the writer approaches the ripe old age of 60 years, she still cannot bring herself to call this great woman by her first name.

Those who knew her will recall that Mrs. Lancaster was the wife of Earl Lancaster who served as the Superintendent of Schools for St. Johns between the years of 1952 and 1976. During that time she raised a family of two daughters and one son. She was active in civic organizations and clubs. People knew her as a gracious hostess and a witty conversationalist.

What many people around here might not know was that Rhea Lancaster was also an uncommonly good sport. Perhaps she displayed that trait most prominently when she served as the counselor to a cabin full of girls during the band’s annual trips to Interlochen.

Euchre was a favorite card game in those years, and her fellow counselors made Mrs. Lancaster’s cabin their base of operations in their off hours. During working hours she routinely hushed girls at the end of the day. Then she sat quietly by as they were turned out of their cabin each night to guard trees as punishment for disturbing the peace. She listened patiently to tears brought on by faltering summer romances, and she helped nurse the sprains and blisters of a new marching season.

Of course she endured the usual short-sheeting and cracker crumbs in her bed with studied silence. When it came time for the ritual dunking of the counselors, she allowed herself to be carried roughly and awkwardly to the lake.

A couple of years ago, after Mrs. Lancaster was in the nursing home and enduring the ravages of Alzheimers Disease, band director Frank Jilka and his daughter Suzie returned to visit her. This week Suzie wrote: "I’ll never forget the way her facial expression came alive and how she tried so hard to focus when she heard the name "Frank Jilka." Even the next day she was able to indicate to one of the nurses, a former resident of her cabin all of those years ago, that she had enjoyed their visit.

So to the list of accomplishments, teacher, homemaker, Hospital Grey Lady and Women’s Club member, we must add the title Good Friend.