Family and Friends gathered in the home of Lucy B. Stewart Speller on Aug. 4 to greet her as she celebrated her 108th birthday. Known as “Aunt,” and “Sister,” to many because she and her husband Wesley had no biological children of their own, they were ‘parents’ of many and were responsible for their success.
Lucy’s friends and relatives have benefited from her wisdom, advice and suggestions even when it wasn’t solicited.
During the party, Muriel Browser, Ward 4 D.C. councilmember, her with a congratulatory letter on behalf of the residents in the ward; Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton placed a congratulatory message in the Congressional Record on Aug. 2, and Joan Williams, a close family friend, presented Lucy a plaque on which a birthday message was written. She also received a family picture and a congratulatory message from President and Mrs. Obama.
Lucy, born in 1904, is a member of Calvary Episcopal Church in Northeast Washington and was a Sunday school and Vacation Bible school teacher.
A common sight at the Speller home on Aug. 4 each year is the arrival, many without invitation, of relatives and friends to observe Lucy Speller’s birthday.