Lucille Mary Knigga Combs, age 98, of Dillsboro, IN passed away July 4, 2025. Born May 12, 1927 in Bear Branch , IN, she was the middle daughter of the late Martin Henry Knigga and Martha Amelia Thomas Knigga. Lucille was a 1945 graduate of Dillsboro High School.
After high school, Lucille began working at Schenley Distillers in Lawrenceburg, IN, which had been converted to a penicillin plant for World War II.
While working there, a co-worker (who would later become her mother-in-law), introduced her to French Lehmen Combs, whom she married on August 13, 1949 at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Bear Branch, IN. The couple lived their entire married life in Dillsboro, where they raised two children and enjoyed life-long relationships with family, friends, and neighbors. They were active members of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Dillsboro, the Dillsboro Civic Club, and RSVP in Lawrenceburg, IN.
Lucille was a loving stay-at-home mom until the children were in school at Dillsboro Elementary, where she was employed in the cafeteria for a time. Lucille enjoyed the outdoors, and worked alongside Lehmen on the family farm. She also enjoyed driving, and so in 1974 began working for the Indiana Area 12 Council on Aging, taking those needing transportation to various appointments, often in the Cincinnati area. She retired from that position in 1986, after which she and Lehmen enjoyed traveling.
In addition to her parents, Lucille was also preceded in death by her husband, Lehmen, on December 12, 2017; sister and brother-in law Helen and Marvin Cutter; sister and brother-in-law Thelma and Clifton Deamron; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Leila and
Berton Edwards; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Beulah and Farmer Morgan; brother-in-law Ronald Combs; and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Annette and Arnold Cutter.
Those left to cherish her memory include her son, David Lee Combs and wife Erma of Dillsboro; daughter Donna Marie Combs Hutchinson and husband Dennis of Rockport, IN; grandchildren Christopher (Tammy) Combs of Dillsboro; Misty (Jason) Cranfill of Versailles, IN; Viola (Charles) Davis of Elizabethtown, IN; Katherine (Jordan) Feigerle of San Mateo, CA; Laura (Jacob) Bryant of Owensboro, KY; great-grandchildren Sarah Combs, Shylee Combs, Braven Combs, Jeremiah Stout, Brittany Stout, Michael Wheeler and fiancé Lexie Dixon, Susan Davis, Shelby Davis, Rhett Bryant, Naomi Bryant; great-great grandchildren River Ann Wheeler, Ryan Lee Wheeler, Remy Lee Wheeler; sister-in-law Phyllis Combs of Vandalia, IL; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 9 from 10:00 to 12:00 AM at Filter-DeVries-Moore Funeral Home, 12887 Lenover Street in Dillsboro, prior to the noon funeral service at St. Peter Lutheran Church, 12963 North Street in Dillsboro. Lucille’s final resting place will be at Oakdale Cemetery, Dillsboro.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Peter Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 125, Dillsboro, IN 47018, or to the Oakdale Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 457, Dillsboro, IN 47018.
Filter-DeVries-Moore Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements: 12887 Lenover St., PO Box 146, Dillsboro, IN 47018; (812) 432-5480. Please visit our website at www.filterdevriesmoore.com to share your condolences and memories of Lucille.