Helen Lucille Cayou 1929-2021

Helen Lucille Cayou, 92, went to be with the Lord on September 12, 2021. Helen was born on February 19, 1929, in Versailles, Missouri to Nora Ellen Howery Cotton and Joseph D. Cotton. Helen always said, "Great people were born in February: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and me". When Lucille was three years old, she and her mother moved to Kansas City, Missouri to stay with family so her mother could find a job during the great depression. Her father still played an active roll in her life, and during the summers, Nora would purchase a train ticket and send Lucille back to Versailles to spend the summer with her father, grandmother, and numerous cousins. When August rolled back around, her father, Joseph, would do the same. She adored both of her parents, and wanted nothing more than for them to be together, but always understood the circumstances.

Lucille later married the love of her life, James S. Cayou, on January 24, 1948 in a civil ceremony in Kansas City, MO. Together, they had two beautiful children, Vicki Marie Cayou Debolt and Robert Eugene Cayou. Lucille and James shared forty-eight years of marriage until his passing in August of 1996. Lucille enjoyed having a career outside the home, and because the family relocated a lot she worked at several companies. Her secretarial skills were unmatched, and her bosses all relied on her heavily. She typed over one hundred and twenty words a minute accurately on an electric typewriter and could take shorthand just as accurately and as fast as the speaker could speak. Because of her servant's heart she truly enjoyed being a behind-the-scenes person to help make her bosses look good. Lucille loved doing research and had an unparalleled attention to detail. At fifty-one, she decided to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. Lucille graduated near the top of her class with a degree as an LVN from Harris Hospital, Ft. Worth, TX. She went to work at HEB Hospital but discovered, at her age, being on her feet all day proved too much, and she returned to being a legal secretary for the Tandy company.

Upon retirement, Lucille worked for Day Star as a prayer partner until her health would not permit her to continue. She dearly loved her church family and was grateful for the love and care they offered her.

Lucille will be forever in the hearts of her children, Vicki Marie Cayou DeBolt and Robert Eugene Cayou; her son-in-law, John Kristopher DeBolt; grandchildren, Daniel R. Cayou, Jacob A. Cayou, Robert J. Cayou, Jeffrey S. Cayou, James E. Cayou, and Jonathan J. DeBolt; and several great-grandchildren.