MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Loved ones gathered around the pink coffin of civil rights legend Lucille Times on Saturday for a tour of the Phillips-Riley Funeral Home in Montgomery.
Times passed earlier this week. During the visit, her family said she had the coronavirus.
“I mean, if it weren’t for the COVID, she’d probably have a year left,” said nephew Daniel Nichols. “She was a pretty big fighter.”
Six months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, the Times got into an argument with the same bus driver. She is best known for her role in boycotting segregated buses ahead of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
More recently, Nichols and his wife were janitors for the Times for over four years. The nephew said he had not forgotten her fighting spirit and determination.
“Never give in,” he said. “She will never give in. If she thinks she’s right, she’ll go to the end of it. “
Zsazsa Hill, the Times goddaughter, attended the visitation.
“She was just a wonderful person,” said Hill.
Times made Hill the woman she is today – her demeanor and integrity are hers.
“It means a lot to me because my mother can’t be here,” she said. “But I am, and I thank God I can see her.”
Hill’s mother and The Times goddaughter, Bettye Coleman, were unable to attend the tour due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and travel issues. She said on the phone that the Times had a servant’s heart.
“She’s always ready to open her doors for you to feed the neighborhood, not just for civil rights, for anyone who came and needed a helping hand,” said Coleman.
Times was 100 years old. On Sunday at 1 p.m. there will be a funeral service in the Catholic Church of St. Jude.
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