Lucie Orme Whitty

HOLLIS – Lucie Orme Whitty, 79, passed away of natural causes on March 28th under the full moon. Lucie was born on December 22, 1941 in Montclair, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Naomi Lawrence Schola and adoptive father Griffith Orme.

Lucie was a registered nurse who cared deeply about people. Her listening ear, encouraging words and caring heart had a lasting impact on many people’s lives. In the 1980’s, Lucie was one of the original volunteers and founders of Community Hospice in Nashua. Lucie’s background in nursing, and her compassionate approach sprinkled with humor, made her a natural at helping volunteers understand grief and loss.

With her former husband Arthur, she lived in Germany in the early 1960’s before moving to Hollis in 1967 where they ran Arthur Whitty Studios for 30 years. Lucie was a valued member of the Hollis and Nashua communities, serving in the first volunteer Hollis Rescue Squad, the local 4-H club and other community causes. She was a long-time member and first female Board President of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua.

Lucie was a proud Jersey girl who loved the Jersey Shore. She loved to travel and often visited Alaska, where she watched the Iditarod dog sled race and accompanied her son Daniel to the remote Alaskan village of his birth mother. In recent years, she enjoyed a trip to Paris and Berlin with cherished younger friends.

Because of her passion for intellectual pursuits, Lucie was always reading and improving her mind. She published articles, gave sermons at her church and loved to discuss ideas. She lovingly initiated people into the extended family by “interviewing” them. Her favorite book was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Lucie will be remembered by her grandchildren for her daily devotion to them. She supported them in everything from school to dating, and she turned ordinary excursions into delightful adventures and misadventures: Hampton Beach, the car wash, King Richard’s Faire, Burger King, stargazing, frozen yogurt, and walks to Odiorne State Park when she would help them indulge in their imaginations and collect seaglass and shells. Lucie slept on the couch during the week so she could meet them off the bus, played catch or dress up, and marched alongside them in imaginary marching bands. She loved them fiercely and knew she was loved in return. She also touched the lives of her grandchildren’s friends and partners, most of whom also called her by the grandmother name she wore so proudly: Nan.

Lucie is survived by her daughter Heidi Chase and husband Cliff of Newmarket, her son Daniel and wife Marie of Laconia, her daughter Naomi Whitty and husband Eli Kramer of Golden, Colorado, her sister Mary Orme and wife Kathleen of Peaks Island, Maine, her brother George Orme and wife Kate of Manchester, Vermont, her grandchildren Ben and Alex Chase, Isabella and Cameron Whitty, and Ella and Kristina Kramer, many nieces, nephews and friends. She was predeceased by her daughter Kristina Whitty and Lucie’s former husband Arthur Whitty.

Those who wish to make a memorial contribution in Lucie’s name can donate to www.FriendsInActionNH.org. Lucie would want us all to look up at the sky and contemplate that we are made from stardust, sit on the couch and listen to someone’s story, pay attention to where the planets are, take a road trip and have a good laugh at their own expense.

A celebration of life will be held in fall of 2021. Details and online guest book can be found at Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory. www.kentandpelczarfh.com.