Frances Nadene Fugate (96) of Sullivan
Published on August 20 2021 12:13 pm
Services to remember Nadene will be held Monday, August 23 at Lovins-Lockart Funeral Home in Windsor, Illinois and officiated by John Plummer and Virgil Cisney. Friends and family may attend a visitation starting at 11:30 a.m., and the funeral service will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a graveside service to follow at Ash Grove. Lovins-Lockart Funeral Home in Windsor is assisting the family. Online condolences may be left by clicking here.
Nadene Steele was born April 16, 1925. She was smitten by Charlie Fugate when they met in the seventh-grade, and they married in 1946. Nadene worked as a teacher while Charlie was at war, and she was the first bookkeeper at the Cumberland Nursing Center in Greenup, IL where she worked for 25 years before retiring.
Nadene loved daylilies and spent countless hours planting, tending, and weeding in flower beds that made her proud. Bold, dark colors and simple, calming pastels were easily spotted all over the lawn in rural Cumberland County, and she often shared the flowers with friends and family who planted them in yards all over Greenup, Charleston, Windsor, and Sullivan. Even after moving to The Masonic Home (now Mason Point) in Sullivan in 1999, she and Charlie shared their love of lilies with the grounds crew there. They helped plant many of their favorites and enjoyed watching them grow from their apartment window for many years.
She leaves behind many who love her. Her one and only daughter, Cindy, and one of a kind son-in-law, Virgil Cisney, gifted much life and laughter to Nadene through their children. Erik, Amie (Thornsbrough), Daniel, and Lisa (Jones) grew up just down the highway from Grandma and Grandad’s house. Many days were spent walking in the flower gardens, snapping green beans, and helping mow the lawn. Over the years, Grandma took great pride in displaying her grandkids in outfits she had skillfully crafted at her sewing table, and she and Grandad were often found cheering on the Cumberland Pirates’ basketball team no matter which grandchild was playing.
Nadene leaves behind several nieces and nephews as well as many great nieces and great nephews, but her parents, brothers, and sisters all passed away many years ago.
There are many loyal friends and caregivers at Mason Point for whom she was very thankful. While we can’t list them all here, Nadene’s family knew she was well loved and cared for there and many of the employees became like family to her. We consider that a blessing.
In her later years, Nadene enjoyed the presence of 11 great-grandchildren. Erik and Jeannie and their children, Athan, Colton, and Abrianna live in Veedersburg, IN. Amie, her husband, Brock, and daughter, Mia Kate, live in SIkeston, MO. Daniel lives in Bloomington, IL with his kids, Hanna, Sam, Miles, Cecelia, Jaxson, and their mom, Margie. Lisa and her husband, Cody, live in Greenup, IL with their kids, Grady and Raegan. Nadene enjoyed hearing stories about the kids’ sports, schools, pets, and silliness. She kept up with the crazy crew with phone calls, letters, and birthday cards. During the last several months when visits were restricted because of the pandemic, Nadene even used FaceTime to see her family’s faces.
Daylilies. Baked apples with Red Hots. Sewing machines. Quilts. These are some of the things that will always make her family think of Grandma. Her life and legacy live on in the hearts of many. If you choose to memorialize her in some way, plant a flower. Send a card. Love each other well. She’d like that.