Vicki Lubiani says three things that are important to her are church, community work and Hail State.
“I love my life,” she said. “I’m leading a very blessed life.”
Lubiani is a lifelong Greenwood resident and a 1970 graduate of Greenwood High School.
She attended Mississippi State University, from which she received a bachelor’s degree in education in 1974.
After college, Lubiani reluctantly moved back to her hometown.
“Growing up, I swore I never wanted to come back and live here, and now I never want to leave here,” she said.
When Lubiani first returned to Greenwood, she began working at a savings and loan business with plans to attend graduate school in Alabama.
Meanwhile, Clarksdale native LoLo Lubiani also ended up moving to the area to help out with his family’s business.
“We had both graduated from college, and we were both pursuing our different careers,” said Vicki Lubiani.
The two met through mutual friend Johnny Jennings.
“We dated three months before he asked me to marry him,” said Lubiani. “End of September we had our first date, and end of December, New Year’s Eve, he asked me to marry him.”
The couple will celebrate 42 years of marriage this week.
They have two adult children: Leigh Anne, who resides in Greenwood, and Morgan, who resides in North Dakota.
Shortly after the couple married, Lubiani began her teaching career. She started at Pillow Academy, helping to establish its kindergarten program. Soon after, she began teaching in the Greenwood Public School District, where she was employed for 25 years before retiring.
Lubiani taught a couple of years at the former W.C. Williams Elementary School and spent the rest of her time at Bankston Elementary School. “I’ve taught everything from K to eighth grade,” she said.
Now, Lubiani works part time at Mississippi Gift Co.
She likes to stay active and is involved in an afternoon exercise class at Twin Rivers Recreation.
“I’ve gotten close with the women in the class, and we do trips together,” she said. “I feel like I have another family with my aerobics family.”
Lubiani joined the class in 2011 when she wanted to get in better shape.
While she was working on the exercise machines at Twin Rivers, she could hear “thumping music” coming from an aerobics class.
One day, the teacher, Terri Kimmel, asked her to join.
Lubiani responded, “I can’t do your class. You’re a drill sergeant,” which is what she had heard.
Kimmel asked her to try out two classes, and if she didn’t enjoy them, she’d understand. After the first class, however, Lubiani was hooked.
“I’m the oldest one in the class, and I’m proud of it,” she said. “I’ll be 65 in August, and I’m in there with 30- and 20-year-olds. If I can’t do what they’re doing, I’ll go ride the bike or I’ll do sit-ups.”
She’s known in the class as the hospitality lady.
“If somebody new comes to class, I’ll tell them where to set up or don’t try to do that if it’s your first time here. And if somebody comes in late, I’ll help them set up,” Lubiani said.
Lubiani also enjoys the welcoming atmosphere of the class.
“I’ve just been very encouraged and supported by the group that goes there,” she said. “Everybody makes you feel welcome, and they don’t look at you strange if you can’t do what they are doing.”
Lubiani is also an active member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.
The Lubianis are dog lovers and have two dogs: Jake, a Jack Russell terrier, and Belle, a shih tzu.
“Dogs are a real important part of our life,” she said.
They also foster dogs from the Leflore County Humane Society.
“We go out to the shelter and say, ‘Well, this one looks like he needs us,’” Lubiani said.
Lubiani is also a big fan of bulldogs — Mississippi State Bulldogs, that is.
“I am a State fan and very proud of it,” she said. “When you grow up here, in junior high you’re a Bullpup, and when you go to Greenwood High School, you’re a Bulldog. I’ve basically been a Bulldog since the seventh grade.”
A highlight for Lubiani as a Bulldog fan happened in March.
She had been following the MSU women’s basketball team closely for about two years. This year, the team went to play in the Final Four in Dallas.
“I heard everybody going to the Final Four, and it killed me to sit here and not go,” she said. “Then, my husband found me tickets. Somebody called him the night before people were going and said, ‘I have two tickets to the Final Four.’ LoLo said, ‘You’re going,’ and I started crying.”
Lubiani said watching the women’s team upset UConn in the semifinals, ending that basketball dynasty’s 111-game winning streak, was an amazing experience.
“It was one of the biggest moments of my following Mississippi State,” she said. “It was something I’d never even dreamed of seeing.”
Lubiani is also a member of Altrusa International of Greenwood, where she serves as recording secretary and participates in the Begin with Reading program and the club’s various other community service projects.
“I go to St. John’s (preschool) two times a month, and I love reading to the little kids there,” she said. “When I see them out in public, they recognize me and say, ‘That’s that lady who reads to us.’”
•Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
