Throughout her 105 years, Lucia Bacote enjoyed so many things in the world around her. But there was one concern that rubbed her the wrong way: the way some people dressed.
“She thought people should get dressed. I mean, really get dressed,” Samuel W. Bacote II, her son from Atlanta, said with a laugh. “She felt like people didn’t cover up their assets like they should. She thought they were too exposed.”
Mrs. Bacote, who still lived in her own home to her final days, believed in full attire and putting on makeup and jewelry, especially when visitors were coming, said Lucia Bacote James, a daughter who lives in Charleston, W. Va.
“She didn't like people to drop in, because she wanted to look a certain way,” her daughter said. “She used to tell me, ‘You owe it to the world to look your very best, because they are the ones who have to look at you.’”
Lucia Moore Bacote, of Atlanta, died Tuesday at Harbor Grace Hospice after suffering a stroke at home the day before. She was 105.
A funeral service is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. Burial at Lincoln Cemetery will immediately follow the service. Carl M. Williams Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bacote was born in Abbeville, S.C., and lived in Illinois as a child before her mother decided to settle in Atlanta. After high school, she began training in the 20s to become a nurse at Spelman Seminary’s MacVicar Hospital. She continued her studies at University Hospital in Augusta and earned her degree in nursing.
After graduating and taking the state board exam, Mrs. Bacote moved back to Atlanta. As a nurse she worked in the homes of families, teaching them how to care for new babies and sick loved ones, her daughter said.
“Back then, after women had babies in the hospital and went home, she would go to the home and give the baby shots and show the parents how to prepare food for the baby and things like that,” Mrs. James said.
In 1931, the former Lucia Moore married Dr. Clarance A. Bacote. The couple had two children and were married for 50 years before Dr. Bacote died in 1981.
In the 40s, she was involved with the organization of the Friendship Baptist Church Well Baby Clinic in Atlanta. She also worked at the local Sunset Avenue Clinic, where she enjoyed sharing her nursing skills.
“When situations came up where her knowledge could be helpful, she readily shared that,” her daughter said. “I think she loved being part of the healing process.”
Mrs. Bacote also loved her family and as grandchildren and great-grandchildren came into the world, she had a special place for each one.
“We all thought we were her favorite. It is the running joke in the family,” said Kelli Bacote-Boone, a granddaughter who lives in Atlanta.
Mrs. Bacote-Boone said her grandmother taught all who were paying attention the secret to a long life.
“She taught the importance of living in the moment and finding the joy in all of your experiences,” her granddaughter said. “She lived in the moment and found the joy and that is why she lived as long as she did.”
Mrs. Bacote is also survived by six additional grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.
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