LITTLETON - Lou Harrell came by her nickname of "Lucky Lou" the hard way. She worked for it.

She was in sales. And she was very hot at it. Part of it was her personality. Partly, it's the product she sold.

"I sold matches," she said. "Billions and billions of matches."

And she's still counting, although she's down to a handful of accounts now.

And that's OK.

Lucky Lou is 80 - just turned in February - and is entitled to slow down a little in the business world.

But she still has plenty to keep her busy.

There are friends she meets for cocktails once a week. With other friends, she plays Acey-Ducey. And with still others, she plays backgammon.

She grew up in Butte, Mont., where her dad was a highway patrolman.

"I was raised to be honest and dependable," she said.

Those attributes have helped her considerably.

She didn't let lack of talent in one thing hold her back, either.

"I sewed all through high school," she said. "I designed clothes. And I was artistic."

Good thing.

"They wouldn't let me sing because I couldn't sing a note," she said. "So they had me do the posters in the school."

She studied at Vogue School of Fashion in Chicago.

Business was tough.

And she didn't like Chicago anyway. So she moved to Denver.

She married and had four kids. The marriage didn't last. But she was always working.

"I didn't look for a job until I was 48," she said.

And that's when she hit her stride. She took at job with Atlas Match Co. in 1975.

She was good to the job. And the job was good to her.

"I put four kids through college," she said. "And I've been around the world three times."

She's a hoot. She wrote her life story for family and friends. The title is almost as long as the booklet: Lucky Lou's Life Story by Lady Lou, the name some of my family call me. Others call me Mom. Some call me Gramma. It's the American Dream Accomplished. The Story of Lou: Live, Love, Laugh, plus Lucky.

She still has dreams.

Friends took out a personal ad for her eight years ago: "I would like to fall in love one more time with a self-confident, self-supporting, easy-going, honest man who eats raw oysters."

"I've never found that old guy to fall in love with yet," she said.

Notice the "yet."

Lucky Lou doesn't give up. Maybe it's the secret to her luck.

"I've been so lucky," she said. "Everything has worked. I had a stroke. I had cancer. And I was divorced. Yeah. Those are bad things that happened in my life."

But she doesn't waste time on that stuff.

"I started selling matches. I did a helluva job, evidently. I could make enough money. My kids are all bright. And I'm not in a wheelchair," she said.

"I've had a full, happy life. I had a great life. And I'm still living a great life. Yes, I'm lucky."

Massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271.

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