Lucy, Cali, & the Power of Community

Lucy has called Colorado home since the 1970s, spending much of that time in Erie. Over the years, she built a life rooted in hard work, family, and community connection.

For two decades, Lucy worked at Rocky Flats after earlier years with a Denver-based company that required frequent travel. When that company closed its Denver office and asked her to relocate to Atlanta, Lucy made the decision to stay in Colorado which she considered home.

Life changed dramatically in 2005 when Lucy became seriously ill with brain swelling that she attributes to chemical exposure from her work. She spent more than a month in the hospital, including time on life support.

“It’s hard to come back from something like that,” she says.

Just two years later, Lucy lost her mother. Facing both physical and emotional challenges, she knew she needed to find connection and purpose again.

“I had to do something to be around people,” she says.

That “something” became volunteering with Coal Creek Meals on Wheels.

Back then, the organization operated out of the First United Methodist Church. Lucy helped bag meals, organize delivery routes, and work in the kitchen several days each week. She later volunteered at a local food bank as well, continuing to give her time and energy to others until physical limitations made volunteering too difficult in 2019.

In the years since, Lucy has faced additional health challenges, including spinal surgery, hearing loss that led to a cochlear implant, and knee surgery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, she is on the receiving end of the same service she once helped provide.

“I’m really thankful for it,” she says of Coal Creek Meals on Wheels deliveries. “I wouldn’t be able to cook, and, you know, it’s just me. It’s really good not to worry about making food.”

Lucy now shares her home with Cali, a once-shy pit bull with big brown eyes she adopted from the Humane Society. Cali has become both companion and helper. Since Lucy cannot hear the doorbell, Cali alerts her when delivery drivers arrive with an enthusiastic wag and expectant look.

“She knows the scent of the drivers,” Lucy says with a smile. “Some of them she just adores.”

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Lucy & Cali

One volunteer in particular, Rick, left a lasting impression. He delivered meals to Lucy years ago,

stepped away from volunteering, and then returned four years later -- only to be greeted by Cali as though no time had passed.

“She came out and just sat right at his feet,” Lucy recalls.

Throughout difficult chapters of her life, Lucy says community has made all the difference. She remembers Bonnie, a former Meals on Wheels cook, who offered friendship and support when Lucy’s youngest son joined the Navy.

“That was really hard — sending my youngest kid off to war,” she says. “You just have a mantra: no news is good news.”

Bonnie, whose own husband had served in the military, understood what Lucy was going through. She made sure Lucy always had a place to go on holidays like Easter.

Today, Lucy’s two children both live nearby in Frederick, and she continues to focus on what she can do. “I do what I can,” she says simply. And if her health improves, she hopes to volunteer again someday — perhaps organizing routes or delivering meals.

“I liked doing that stuff,” she says. “If I can get my knees doing better, I’d love to come back.”

Through illness, recovery, and change, Lucy’s story is one of resilience and a reminder of the powerful role community plays in helping people move forward.

As Lucy puts it:

“It’s okay. It has to be.”

Your support can provide a meal to a neighbor like Lucy, or to a companion animal like Cali!

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