CELEBRATIING THE WOMEN IN MY LIFE
by
Karen Utter Jennings
I come from lines of strong women who lived through triumphs & tragedies, sunshine & rain. Today I am strong because of them: Emma Faye (mom), Nancy (stepmom) & grmas/grtgrmas: Delva, Belvia, Jewell, Ollie, Christina, Laura, Luticia, Nancy, Ethel Mae, Rachel, & 2 special ladies my Aunt Edith & my mother-n-law, Veta.
Mom was a true 50's girl...here she's goofing off with her friends.Emma Faye Laney was born 31 January 1938 on the farm west of Exeter, Missouri. She married Ronnie Utter from Rocky Comfort, MO in 1953 and they had four children; I am the oldest. Emma died in Monett, MO on 15 November 2013 and she is buried at Maplewood Cemetery, Exeter, MO.
Nancy Wolfe Utter, my step-mom, was born and raised in Montana. She is still alive and living at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in a quaint little rodeo town. She has a daughter and a son and several step-children. Nancy is a great lady whom I love for her outdoorsy, nature-loving spirit! I've been fortunate to visit Montana several times.
Belvia Ross Laney was my mom's mother; she was born 07 September 1913 at Flat Creek near Cassville, MO. She married Charley Edwin Laney in 1932 and they had a large family. She loved to crochet, sew and she loved to sing. She was a homemaker and died 17 June 1982 from cancer in Joplin MO. She is buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter, MO.
Delva Black Utter was my paternal grandmother. Born She was born with leukemia & suffered with it until 1956. In January of that year, I was a toddler and on a cold, snowy morning, she shot herself in her bed. Such a tragedy! The stories told to me say that she was a great lady, loved her family, enjoyed fishing, and she was a Grand Worthy Matron in the Eastern Star at Wheaton, Missouri. She is buried at Rocky Comfort cemetery.
This is my paternal great-grandmother, Ollie Johnson Utter Brier. Born 31 August 1895 in McDonald County, she married Dee Jay Utter in 1909 and they had a son, my Grandad. She later married Bill Brier in Kansas in 1921. They came back to Rocky Comfort MO when her folks grew old and their health was not good. She was very close to me and my brothers and our mother. She helped Mom take care of us and I lived with her during my 1st and 2nd grade elementary school years at Rocky Comfort, Missouri. She taught me how to sew, how to ride a bike, how to watch for severe thunderstorms and not be afraid, and how to love nature and the great outdoors. She is buried at the Rocky Comfort MO Cemetery.
This is Nancy Smith Johnson, mother of Ollie. In her obituary, it claims she was a great and well-known midwife who delivered many babies in McDonald County. She was a short, petite woman. She was born on Halloween 1868 in Sullivan County, MO. She married Tom Johnson in 1884 at Cassville, MO. They had five children, four daughters and one son. Nancy died 25 Sep 1949 at the house in Rocky Comfort, MO. She is buried at the Rocky cemetery.
Christina Hunt Utter was my paternal great, great-grandmother. She was born 22 June 1844 in Franklin, Johnson County, IN. Her father, Joseph Hunt, was one of the early settlers who helped found the town of Franklin. She married David Jefferson Utter 29 July 1861 and they raised a family of 14 children. She died 18 April 1924 at her son Tom Utter's home in Rocky Comfort. She is buried at the Owsley-Union Cemetery south of Longview, MO. I love this picture of her; now I know where I get my knack for being able to raise my right eyebrow and my unsmiling lips. She looks like a determined woman with those round glasses, big hat, and the brooch at her throat.
Nora Ethyl Mae Painter Ross was the mother of Belvia. She was born 22 July 1890 in Barry County, MO and married Daniel Lewis Ross in 1918. They raised a big family. She died 13 November 1967 in Barry County. I don't know much family history about her...maybe I'll find some interesting information about her someday.
Laura Ellen Danley Laney was my maternal great, great, great-grandmother. She was born 10 April 1886 in Barry County and married Robert "Bob" Laney in 1908 and died 07 November 1969 at the farm west of Exeter, MO. She raised a large family. G'Ma Laney was a God-fearing Pentecostal who ran her family like a General, she almost never smiled, she chewed tobacco and had a spit can. When Mom took us over to the farm west of Exeter to visit her & Grandpa Laney, we enjoyed it, but were scared to death in the house...it was spooky to little kids.
Luticia Ann Hanlon Black was the mother of Delva. Born 08 January 1893 in West Virginia, she married Charles Edward Black in 1910. They had five children. She was nicknamed "Teshie" and she died Sunday, 02 May 1954 at the Wheaton MO Hospital. She is buried at the Hamilton KS cemetery. I don't know much family history about her, but I do have a few recipes that she owned, so she must have enjoyed cooking.
Rachel Brannun Danley was the mother of Laura Ellen. She was born in 1865 and married Hezekiah K. Danley in 1876. They had a large family. Rachel died 21 January 1907 at her home near Seven Star Springs in McDonald County when she was 40 years old. Grandma Rachel is buried at the Rocky Comfort Cemetery.
Jewell Mae Flippo Utter was my paternal step-grandmother, she was born 27 May 1927 in Harrison, Boone County, AR. She married my Grandad Perry Utter in 1958 at Miami, OK. She had 3 children from her first marriage, whom we all remember and love. Jewel died 11 August 2011 in Winfield, KS. I remember her as a loving and sweet lady.
Edith Laney Bowen Meyer, one of my mother's sisters, is a special person. She has been a big part of my life forever and many memories abound. She is still alive and we keep in touch. She and her two daughters were very close to Mom and us kids when we were growing up.
This is Veta Fikes Jennings, my mother-in-law. She was born 14 November 1932 in Neosho, MO. She married Leroy D. Jennings in 1949 and they raised 11 children, my husband, is the 2nd oldest. Veta died in 2009 from a long fight with breast cancer. She was a great woman and I loved her so.
I'm thankful for cameras & photography because I have their photos to see life etched on their faces & see their personalities in the way they dressed & wore their hair. Through my family history research on my Genealogy Journey, I have found amazing stories of many of the other women in my family lines. So, on this Mother's Day weekend, I say to all:
Celebrate your mother and the women in your life, for they are the backbone of the family. Learn who they really are ~ learn their history, how they feel, what they did as a child, their likes/dislikes, find out what you can about them, collect family history & photographs, because one day you will be glad you did! When they are gone you will have that information to get you through the sadness of their passing. Make memories now! Celebrate & rejoice about the ladies whom you came from ~ Happy Mother's Day to everyone!
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