Lucy Dell Trusty

Our beloved Aunt Dell, Lucy Dell Herring Trusty, entered Heaven on Monday, January 19, 2026, having lived a richly blessed life of 108 years. Those who knew her best would say her life was not marked by grand gestures, but by the quiet, faithful way she found and shared joy, purpose, and God’s goodness in everyday moments.

She was born on a farm in Hosston, Louisiana, on the banks of the Red River, where her deep love of family, faith, and simple living first took root. She delighted in sharing stories about her early years—stories that didn’t merely recount her life but brought history to life. After graduating from Hosston High School, she and her sister came to Shreveport through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal youth work programs, where she worked at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum helping create diorama displays still enjoyed today. During World War II, she worked in a local sewing factory making buttonholes on military shirts. While her husband served with the Army Air Forces at Tyndall Field and later overseas, she spent time in Panama City, enjoying the company of the locals and the beaches, and traveled to Chicago, where she helped in her husband’s family restaurants.

After returning to Louisiana, she worked at the Hotel Bentley as telegraph operator, in downtown Shreveport at the Joy Theater, where she always teased a regular patron, Elvis Presley, and she later worked alongside her husband at the Louisiana Hayride.

She played an amazing role in the lives of many children—from those she lovingly cared for on a daily basis to the many others who fondly remember summer days filled with laughter, comfort, and time spent with Aunt Dell—helping shape the foundation of who they would become.

Sewing was a lifelong passion. She made clothes, quilts, costumes, stuffed animals, and was always ready to help with a last- minute project—her hands rarely still, her work always an expression of love.

She found joy in life’s simple pleasures: Sunday family lunches; reading; gardening; working jigsaw puzzles; working the daily crossword puzzle; camping with her sisters; attending Game Day and playing Hand and Foot at church; cooking everyone’s favorite dishes—fried chicken and gravy, chicken and dressing, chocolate pie, coconut cake, and fruitcake cookies—and traveling. At age 106, she even delighted in another trip to Disney World, a testament to her enduring sense of adventure.

She took great pride in the deep roots of her Herring/Bounds family. Seeing generations gathered at reunions and her birthday celebrations brought her immense joy, and it made her smile knowing the family legacy continues through the Brooks, Hines, Green, and Herring families, including her great-great-nephews, Braxton and Kyler, who carry on the Herring name.

Those who welcomed her as she began her heavenly celebration include her husband of more than 22 years, James William “Jay” Trusty; her parents, Virginia Bounds Herring and Bill Herring; her sisters, Vidia Herring Brooks, Ida Bell Herring Hines, and Lorene Herring Green; her brother, Curtis Herring; and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and cherished friends—especially her dear “sister in Christ,” Mavis Todd.

Those who will miss her dearly until they reunite in Heaven include her many nieces and nephews; great-nieces and nephews; cousins; her stepdaughter and grandsons; her Ledbetter family—Shirley, Ray, Linda, and Christina—her Kingston Road Baptist Church family, and many other very dear friends.

Aunt Dell’s legacy of faith, kindness, and love for God and family will continue to live on through all who knew her. Her gentle spirit and joyful heart left a lasting impression on everyone she met.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to Dorothy Lee, Willis-Knighton Home Health and Hospice, and Drs. Jeffrey Bernard, Keith Strain, Ajaya Tummala, and Mandy Crow for their compassionate care and kindness through the years.

https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2023/01/02/meet-the-louisiana-woman-who-just-turned-105/69758418007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119266d00----v119266d--92--b--92--&gca-ft=186&gca-ds=sophi