Lucile May Olson Gunn Soper
Lucile May Olson Gunn Soper, wife of the late Rev. Elgar Soper, died March 30, 2018, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. A Memorial Service was held May 12 at Homewood at Crumland Farms, in Frederick. Burial was private at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Lucile May Olson was born March 22, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of the late Arthur and Loyola (Snyder) Olson and graduated from Smithsburg High School. She was a graduate of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Soper was an educator who taught elementary school at Pangborn Elementary in Hagerstown, and at Jackson Road Elementary School in Silver Spring.
She and the Rev. Elgar Soper married in 1966, after each were widowed. As a pastor’s wife she devotedly served each United Methodist parish alongside her husband. These included Good Shepherd UMC, 1966-72 and Colesville UMC, 1972-79, when he retired. In retirement he served four years at Sandy Hook UMC. She loved music and enjoyed singing in choirs and choral groups. He died in 2016.
Lucile enjoyed her family and friends, music and her faith. The beloved matriarch of a very large and blended family, she put family first, always with a cheerful and positive perspective and words of encouragement to all.
Surviving are three children from her first marriage: Delia Gunn Bonenberger and husband, Dolf, of Springville, N.Y.; Adele Gunn Gill and husband, Donald, of Boonsboro; and Timothy Gunn and wife, Tracy, of Charlotte, N.C.; step-children: David Stanley Soper and wife, Pamela, of Southern Shores, N.C.; Stewart Michael Soper and wife, Alison, of Salisbury; and Cheryl Soper Damico Vincent of Clarkston, Mi.; 10 grandchildren; 10 step-grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Christine Harp, of Parkton.