Lucille O’Neal was three years old when her mother left Dublin, Georgia to start a new life in Newark, New Jersey. She still remembers the neighborhood in the Central Ward of Newark where she used to spend time playing with her friends.

As a single parent raising one boy and three girls, life was not always a picnic, for Lucille’s mother, Odessa Chambers, but the love that she and her children shared among themselves out-measured everything else.
In her mild mannered casual way of speaking, Lucille told her story, including her personal interest in basketball. She played the game as a center forward when she was in high school. However, she added that it was intramural sports, and that she was just as proud of her affiliation with the Banner Guard, and noted her excitement about carrying the US Flag for Newark’s Westside High School.

Lucille graduated from high school in 1 971, and later married Philip Harrison –– she with a son, and he with three children of his own. Philip joined the Army in 1974, and the Harrison clan, including Shaquille O’Neal, Lateefah, Ayesha and Jamal Harrison began their travels in the military with their parents. Among their stops were Georgia, Eatonville, New Jersey; San Antonio, and West Germany. Lucille said that West Germany culture was an excellent experience for her children, and the comradery was great. During that time, she worked in Transportation Division on the base. This experience with the military began in 1977 and ended when the Orlando Magic Professional Basketball Organization drafted Shaquille and the family moved to Orlando. This was in 1993.

Although Lucille has since gone through a divorce and Shaquille has move to Los Angeles to play with the Lakers, Orlando is still home to her. Says she, “There comes a time in your life when you just get tired of moving. That’s the first thing. We traveled all around in the military for 20 years. Every three or four years, we were at a different place. When we moved to Orlando I stayed here even though all of my family are not here. Jamal, Lateefah and Ayesha now live in Tallahassee.”

The Orlando area has captured Lucille’s interest by embracing and seeking her involvement with several humanitarian type community based projects. Her volunteer work has included a connection with Black Family, AT&T, modeling with Kim McNair Productions, fund raising with the Orlando Magic Youth Golf Association and their association with Meharry Medical School, UNCF, and the list goes on. Because of her community service, she received one of the 2003 Onyx Awards in the category of Humanitarianism.

Ms. O’Neal graduated magna cum laude with a major in business administration from Bethune-Cookman College in May 2003. She said, “College was good for me. I had opened my mind up to accept the knowledge that I needed. It was a good feeling because the students accepted me for who I was, and the instructors were as effecive as they were professional. I never even felt out of place around the younger students. I felt wanted. They treated me with respect and I treated them with respect. I never felt that I was too old to be there or that I didn’t belong there. I went to some of the games, and of course the Florida Classic, but because of the distance, I did not remain on campus for many of the night activities.”

Lucille Reminesces About Her Mother
Lucille believes her purpose in life was revealed to her with the death of her mother. Recounting memories of her mom, she said, “Before we moved to Florida in 1993, My Mother pulled both families together, the Harrison Family and the O’Neal Family, for a celebration. We celebrated the accomplishments of my son, Shaquille. Out of the two families, this was the major accomplishment for us. We were all representative of him, and he of us.” Handing over a photograph, she continued, “this is my youngest sister, Velma…”
Recounting the early days of her mother’s illness, Lucille said that she had been sick sporadically for a number of years, but the family had no idea that it was ovarian cancer. She is not even sure when her mother found out, but when she did, she kept it from her children.

Eventually realizing and coming to grips with the seriousness of their mother’s condition, the family once again banded to make her last years as comfortable as they possibly could. Says Lucille, “My mother went through chemotherapy and the radiation. Finally one day, we had the opportunity to sit and talk to her primary doctor. He told us that they had done all they could do and that it was no longer an issue of the quantity of time she had left, but it would be the quality of life from that point on.”

With the doctor’s comments etched in their minds, Lucille said. “We all did the best we could for our mother. We moved her home from the hospital, loved her and made her life as comfortable as possible. When she passed away, we made a commitment to remember her in a special way.”
Remembering in a Special Way
Lucille, her brother, Roy, and her two sisters decided to develop the Odessa Chambers Quality-of-Life Fund (The Fund) in honor of their mother. Said Lucille, “Our mother was a nurse –– a very special genuine loving person. She loved every body including strangers off the street. So when we developed The Fund, we decided that we would help the nursing students because we found out that the existing scholarships do not pay for the medical supplies they need. The scholarships pay for some of the books, but you can never have enough.” The Fund, which was launched in 1999, provides scholarship money to schools that identify nursing students that need financial help.

When The Fund was launched in New Jersey, its founders got the support of various businesses in the New Jersey area, and netted a substantial amount of money for nursing scholarships. Now, Lucille has decided to bring The Fund closer home. Says she, “I am reaching out to everyone in the Central Florida area. I’ve been representative of The Fund and we donated money to the Bethune-Cookman Nursing Program before I graduated. It has a special place in our hearts, and I want everyone to grasp its meaning –– our desire to do whatever we can to help somebody as long as we live. Quality of life: this is the concept that keeps The Fund going.

Citing the participation of her son, Shaquille O’Neal, Lucille said, “Shaq supports our efforts. He has a fundraiser in LA every year called the Shaqtacular. The Odessa Chambers Quality of Life Fund is one of the charities that he supports. He is affiliated with the Athletes and Entertainers for Kids organization. It’s a beautiful organization that raises a lot of money for charities."

Reflecting further on the life of Odessa Chambers, Lucille said, “My mother struggled to put herself through nursing school. You know, everybody can’t afford to go to school.”

Pausing in a moment of passion for her purpose, Lucille made it clear that her actions were not meant to impress anyone and vowed that she will get the job done.

Caught up in the reminiscent love for her mother and her childhood experiences, Lucille said that her family did not have money when she was growing up, but there was much love for everyone and a strong faith in God. Her mother and father were not together, so there was no man in the home to help them with their struggles, but Odessa Chambers’ faith was strong and reassuring. She believed the family would make it in spite of and she made them believe it too. “You know, God is good,” Lucille said, “and here we are today.”

Lucille’s continues to maintain the faith that has brought her this far. Regarding nursing students that will eventually be instruments for her purpose, Lucille said, “Why can’t we help some one who’s trying to get
into the nursing program––give them some help along the way. All of that ties into quality of life. If a nursing student is burdened with needing stuff to go to school, and don’t know where the money is coming from, if there is someone out there who can help, it’s one thing less for them to worry about. That, too, is what quality of life if all about. It’s not about how old we are, or what we have. It’s important that those who can help, will help to make someone else’s life a little bit better.”