Obituary of Louella K. Vincent

Louella K. Vincent. 1926-2017

Louella Knox Vincent, 90, of 80 Parrish Street in Canandaigua died on Tuesday, December 5, 2017. She left this world as unexpectedly as she entered it on Christmas morning in 1926 at the home of her grandparents near Hallsport, NY in Allegany County. She was the daughter of Fred and Genevieve (Billings) Knox. She spent her early childhood in Allentown before moving with her parents to Little Genesee, NY. She graduated from Bolivar Central School in 1944. She worked as a secretary before being married to Robert P. Lewis in 1946. For the next 29 years she lived in Alfred Station, NY, where she raised their three children and was involved in church and community activities, camping and western square dancing. In addition to being office manager for her husband's contracting business, she worked part-time for 14 years in the registrar's office at Alfred University, where she was a member of the Sigma Chi Nu Sorority. She spent terms as the president of the Allegany County American Legion Auxiliary and president of the Alfred Almond PTA.

In 1975 she moved to the Rochester area and accepted a position as food service manager at the corporate headquarters for R.T. French Company, a job she held for 10 years. In 1976 she married Robert L Vincent, to whom she was married until his death in 1998. They settled in Canandaigua and became members of Canandaigua Baptist Church, now known as Lifespring Community Church. In 1986, after R.T. French moved their headquarters from Rochester, she started yet another career as a travel agent, a job from which she never really retired. She became a member of Rochester Women in Travel (now known as Rochester Travel Professionals) and was certified as a Destination Specialist and CLIA Cruise Counselor. Her husband, Bob, joined her on many of the trips, especially the bus tours she planned and escorted after his death she summoned the courage to continue her career and in 2006, at the age of 80, she accompanied a client on a 3-month world tour on the QEII. That was the highlight of her career but not the end. Even with her increasing loss of vision, hearing and mobility, she planned tours, both locally and world-wide, for her faithful clients. She kept albums full of photos and loved to talk about her experiences while traveling around the world.

Louella's zest for life never dimmed, even when she experienced broken bones and months in a wheel chair or a rehabilitation hospital. At the age of 90, she published her memoir, So Much World…So Little Time, and invited her friends to a book-signing party. This past fall she accompanied a friend on a cruise to Bermuda and just before her death she attended a performance of the Messiah.

In addition to her parents, Louella was preceded in death by her husband, Robert L. Vincent of Canandaigua, NY, her daughter, Carol Lewis Stevens of Gary, TX, her brother, Rev. Richard Knox of Greenville, SC, and her sister, Shirley Knox Colley of Bolivar, NY. She is survived by her daughter, Alyce (Jerry) Carpenter of New Bern, NC, her son, Robert (Deborah) Lewis of Alfred Station, NY and son-in-law, Andrew Stevens of Gary, TX; grandchildren, Michael (Curt) Lewis-Swanson of Rochester, NY, Elisabeth (Jason) Bean of Elmira, NY, Terra (Nicholas) Dustin of Hamburg, NY, Megan Carpenter of New Bern, NC, Rachel Stevens of Atlanta, GA and Jeremy (Christina) Stevens of Gary, TX; great-grandchildren, Hannah and John Bean, Bryn Dustin, Phoenix Conditt, Joshua and Annabelle Stevens; brother, John (Norma) Knox of Grand Rapids, MI; three generations of nieces and nephews, many cousins and devoted friends, Barbara Durkin of Austin, TX and Robert Pople of Sydney, Australia.

There will be a period of visitation Saturday, Dec. 16, from 2 p.m. to 4 pm. at Fuller Funeral Home, 190 Buffalo St., Canandaigua and an hour before the 3:00 p.m. service on Sunday, Dec. 17 at Lifespring Community Church, 5026 N Road, Canandaigua. Burial will be at Stannards Cemetery in Allegany County at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions can be made to Lifespring Community Church Memorial Fund or Canandaigua Emergency Squad.