My Family
Let’s meet my family. The My Family sub-section has twelve chapters.
- Paternal Grandparents
- Maternal Grandparents
- My Parents
- My Father
- My Mother
- My Brother
- My Sister
- My Daughter
- My Wife
- My Paternal Aunts and Uncles
- My Maternal Aunts and Uncles
- Miscellaneous Family Photos
I will begin this sub-section by introducing my grandparents. Of course, both sets were born at the turn-of-the century in the South. My father’s parents were Robert Howard (1886) and Sarah Belle George Morrow (1886) while my mother’s parents were Lee Alvin (1888) and Lee Etta Todd Spearman (1895).
Paternal Grandparents
If I were limited to three adjectives to describe my Grandpa Robert Morrow, they would be “delightful”, “interesting”, and “entertaining”. He also was a very hard worker. He was outgoing and he liked people. I do not think that he ever met a stranger. He was a gentle and kind man who treated everyone the same. He loved life and lived it to its fullest. He was a very important person in my life. He always offered encouragement and set a good example for all of us to follow. I will now share some of my memories.
In my early years, I saw my paternal grandparents every day as they lived next door. My grandmother, Sarah, died in 1955 when I was only eight years old. Actually, I do not remember much about her. My grandfather then married Jane Simpson, a widow from Columbus, Kentucky, in 1958. As silly young kids, we had a lot of fun joking about our grandpa “courting” when he was almost seventy years old. Jane was a wonderful lady and everyone loved her. Grandpa passed in 1978 and Jane passed in 1984.
Robert Morrow was a wonderful man. My first memory is how he loved to fish. In the summer months, grandpa frequently took my first cousin, Fray, and me fishing. From about eight to fifteen years old, Fray and I traveled to many lakes, ditches, and streams in our local area with grandpa in an effort to catch that “big one”. (My biggest catch was a three or four pound carp at about twelve years old.) I only liked to fish when the fish were actually biting; however, it did not appear to matter that much to my grandfather. He could sit for hours without getting any action. Often, we would sit on the bank all day long without a nibble. I can remember going to a small stream (It may have been no more than 15 – 20 feet wide.) that was about three or four miles west of Diehlstadt where one could catch bream (brim) with little or no bait on the hook all day long. (I did enjoy fishing on those days at that ditch!) I always preferred fishing with a pole instead of a rod and reel. There is just something exciting about watching the bobber (I actually called it a cork even though it was made of plastic.) bobbing up and down. I am certain that a truly dedicated fisherman would have a different preference. Of course, I was never a truly dedicated fisherman, even though I had a “professional” child’s Zebco 202 reel (sarcasm intended). This novice still prefers the old fashioned way of fishing and that is with a pole and bobber.
Grandpa lived next door to my family and his youngest child, Uncle Raymond’s family. Thus, our two families were very fortunate that we could easily visit Grandpa and Jane every day. I spent a considerable amount of time with him during my early years living in Bertrand.
Grandpa Morrow was an avid reader and was self-taught. Frequently, when I would visit him, he would be reading the St. Louis Globe Democrat or the US News and World Report. He was very interested in politics and current events. He had no interest in sports, but he always saved the sports page for me to read. As a St. Louis Cardinals fan, I would go over to his house about every day to read about my favorite team’s exploits. Of course, I never missed listening to the Cards on KMOX on my transistor radio. I loved listening to Harry Carey and later Jack Buck describe the play-by-play of Cardinals baseball. I was shocked to witness how much Harry Carey exaggerated the action when I was first able to view the games for myself on TV. (Holy Cow!) I certainly preferred Jack Buck’s calling of the games and particularly liked to hear him proclaim “that’s a winner!” (I think Jack became lead play-by-play man in 1969.)
Grandpa loved to talk politics with me and, of course, he, like most Missourians at that time, was a very partisan Democrat. That generation of Morrows was political, as his older brother, David, was the mayor of Red Bay, Alabama, in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s and his younger brother, Grover, was also very involved in the Alabama political scene. The older generation was very conservative, but they always voted for the Democrats. To be fair, we must remember that, at that time, the Democratic Party was considerably more moderate than the current version of the Party. In addition, the Dixiecrats were always a little different than the regular Party. I often have pondered if my older relatives would still vote for the Democrats given the Party’s current left-wing platform. It certainly is an interesting question.
Grandpa loved his flowers and his garden. As much as he liked flowers, I actually could envision him as a florist or working at a nursery. He liked to work during the hottest part of the day. It was not unusual to see him at high noon in July hoeing his garden or trimming his rose bushes when he was almost 80 years old. He really did have a green thumb. His garden was very prolific and his roses were always beautiful. The end results were indicative of his tender loving care.
He loved to give advice to his grandchildren and we all appreciated his wisdom. I always appreciated his insight and perspective. He had no problem stating his opinion on an issue, but he never would disrespect an opposite opinion. He often told me that I would make a good politician when I grew up. (He probably came to that conclusion from overhearing me making political speeches in my dad’s combine bin when I was ten or eleven years old. I certainly was unaware of anyone listening at the time.) In that regard, there were two things that he did not know about me. First, I hated speaking in front of groups. The second thing was that I never ever planned to grow up. I suppose that I should add a third thing and that is that politicians have to lie and I do not like to tell lies!
He enjoyed going to church and was a founding member of the First Baptist Church of Bertrand. He loved singing the old gospel songs. One of my fondest memories was his singing of the great hymn, “When They Ring Those Golden Bells for You and Me”. He sang loud and off key, but it was beautiful to everyone. Tears would be flowing from his eyes. When I would visit, he often would play his favorite album for me which was a gospel music album by the Chuck Wagon Gang. Again, the tears would be flowing down his cheeks as he listened.
He never missed the “CBS News”, the “Leave it to Beaver” show, or the “Wonder Woman” show on TV. (How could any male not like Lynda Carter?) He always felt compelled to defend or justify Wonder Woman’s scanty outfit which was somewhat risque for that time. He would say, “she has to dress that way so she will be able to easily run and jump around!” I can still hear Jane, his wife, responding to his justification with, “Oh! Robert.” Grandpa and Jane were so cute as he loved to tease her. I am so happy that he found Jane to share the last twenty years of his life.
I can recall numerous times that he would invite me to sit down and watch the “Beaver” show with him. He really was not that endeared to Beaver’s big brother, Wally, as he was always getting Beaver in big trouble. We, however, never needed to fret as the Cleaver adults always found a solution to the Beaver and Wally’s dilemma. I cannot deny that I, also, really enjoyed the “Leave it to Beaver” series. Many positive lessons on parenting were taught by the Cleavers and later by Sheriff Andy Taylor of the Andy Griffith Show. Watching those TV shows with my grandfather is a precious memory that I will never forget.
Every year on the third Sunday in November, his children, grandchildren, and numerous friends would come to his house to celebrate his birthday (November 20) with him. The house would be full and the food was always plentiful. He was the ultimate ham as he liked to sing, dance, and play the harmonica. I remember, on his 85th birthday, he entertained all by standing on his head and riding a bicycle. He was active until a few months of his passing at almost 92. He was a unique character. (My cousin, Rick Funderburk, recently shared an old video that was compiled from a couple of those birthday celebrations. It brought tears to my eyes and brought back some great memories.)
In the early years of my life, my grandfather, my father, and my uncle Raymond were partners in farming. They farmed the Bertrand farm and a larger farm on Wolf Island which was about 20 or so miles away from Bertrand on the Mississippi River. That farm was on the Missouri side of the river, but it had a Kentucky address. The river, over time, had changed its course. The two farms could not have been more different. The farm near Bertrand had very sandy soil and tended to be devoid of moisture while the farm on Wolf Island had soil that was gumbo and always tended to be wet. In the late 60’s, the three partners installed a progressive irrigation system on the home farm. The system had wheels that followed an underground track that was placed around the perimeter of the field. It took either 12 or 24 (I do not remember) hours for it to make a complete cycle around the field. That irrigation system really paid dividends as having too little rain was never an issue, thereafter.
My paternal grandparents had eight children that lived to be adults. (Richard, Alma, Willie, Alta, Murphy, Gordon, Louise, and Raymond.) Alta died while giving birth and Gordon was killed in World War II. I certainly would have liked to have met my Aunt Alta and Uncle Gordon. My parents spoke very highly of both. My dad always told me that I reminded him of his brother, Gordon. I never asked my dad, but I am certain that he meant it as a compliment. Uncle Gordon’s plane was shot down over the Baltic Sea. I was fortunate enough to take a cruise to the Baltic Sea in the summer of 2019 and I did say a prayer in Uncle Gordon’s memory.
I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with my grandfather. He and I had many interesting discussions about life, politics, and current events. Grandpa really relished his younger years growing up in Red Bay, Alabama, and his adult years as the owner of a small sawmill. He loved to share those stories with anyone that would listen. I liked to listen! He was an inspiration to me and, like my parents, always strongly encouraged me to continue my education.
He was a one-of-a-kind man and I dearly miss him. Grandpa passed in 1978. I can remember attending funerals for him in Missouri and in Alabama. His grave site is near Red Bay, Alabama in Halltown Cemetery. Again, Robert Morrow was a very neat guy and I learned a lot of life’s lessons through him.
Maternal Grandparents
As they lived more than 400 miles away, I rarely saw my maternal grandparents. With that being the case, those rare visits were always very special. Twice each year as the dates of our visits neared, I can remember the excitement building inside me. It was a time of great anticipation. We were going to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Alabama! It was always a fun time for me. Yes, those were exciting and memorable times.
My earliest memories of my mom’s parents were when they lived in Red Bay, Alabama in the early 50’s. Their names were Lee and Lee Etta Spearman. At an earlier time, both sets of grandparents lived near each other in the northwest corner of Alabama (Franklin County). In the mid 1950s, Lee and Lee Etta moved to central Alabama where they resided until their deaths in 1975 and 1989.
The Spearmans purchased a plot of land in central Alabama that was wooded and had rolling hills. This property was located in Chilton County which is about half way between Birmingham and Montgomery. Their property was about two miles west of a small town named Thorsby, Alabama. We would usually visit them twice each year in early August and over Christmas vacation.
My siblings and I always addressed my maternal grandparents as Paw Paw and Maw Maw Spearman. As we saw them so infrequently, it was always a very happy occasion when we did get together. I have so many good memories and I will share some of them.
Both Lee and Lee Etta had a passion for playing “Rook”, a card game. Maw Maw also liked to play two other card games, “Old Maid” and “Muggins”, with the younger grandchildren. I remember that my maw maw was a very proper lady. For example, when one of her younger grandchildren began sharing a story about his cat having kittens (nothing raunchy), she quickly interrupted him and let him know that subject was not an appropriate conversation for youngsters. There were other examples, but I cannot remember the particular details at this moment. I just do know that she believed that children should not discuss certain “adult” topics.
Paw Paw liked spinning yarns, telling stories, watching the Top Dollar Show, the Amos and Andy Show, and wrestling on television. He loved Kingfish from the old Amos and Andy show. Maw Maw would never miss the local news and weather, Perry Mason, and Highway Patrol. They both went to bed before it was completely dark and got up very early. So when we visited, we had to generally adjust to their schedule.
I was always amazed at the red dirt in the south. I always thought that the dirt in Thorsby was particularly red! As a young child, I remember that all my t-shirts would get red stains on them – never to be white again after our visits to Alabama. I do not think that clorox or even new blue Cheer had any noticeable effect on those stains.
I can remember an arbor east of their house. I think the fruit that it bore was called scuppernongs which is a variety of grapes. Their front porch had a swing on each end. I spent a lot of time in those swings. I think that one of the swings may have been removed in the later years. A large white novelty concrete bulldog set on the porch steps for more than 25 years. I cannot remember if that dog had a name.
I remember an old barn located directly behind their house. If my memory is not playing tricks on me, I recall that a chicken house occupied the east end of that barn. I, also, think that at one time, there may have been a horse quartered in that barn. It is real foggy to me, but for some reason, I associate that horse with Doreen and Doyle’s cousin, Gerald McVay. Maybe, it belonged to Doreen and Doyle and one time while we were visiting, Gerald was the one riding it. I think that I may have been between 6-8 years old at that time. Cousins, is that a false positive memory? I just cannot remember sixty-five year old details very clearly at this stage of my life. Weren’t there also some mannequins in that barn loft at one time?
I also remember a wash house butted up against the arbor. At one time, it had an old wringer type washer in it. I can recall maw maw and mom washing there a few times. A small tool shed was located on the other end of that building (or possibly it was located in a separate building beside it). That tool shed was chocked full of small jars filled with screws, bolts, nails, washers, nuts and other items that had been collected over many years. Then, there was the outhouse in proximity to those buildings. Wow, this is fun, but it is really taxing my memory bank!
While visiting in Alabama, we played a game called pitching washers or pitching silver dollars when I was very young. Of course, the name of the game depended on what one was pitching. When adults were involved, it was usually silver dollars. (I think that I know why it was washers when children were playing?) The game is a close derivative of horseshoes. Instead of a stake, three vertically aligned holes about three inches apart are dug on each end of the linear court about 10 – 15 feet from each other. The holes are about two inches deep. The object is to pitch your silver dollar into one of three holes. A silver dollar in the first hole counts five, the second hole counts ten, and the back hole counts 20. The first team that scores 50 (?) points wins the game. A team is comprised of one member on one end of the court and his partner on the opposite end of the court. When it is his turn, a player pitches his three silver dollars. Then, his opponent on that same end follows suit. This process is followed as your partner and the opponent on the other end each pitches his three silver dollars back your way. (Whew! That was some description of a simple game. That really wore me out. My description made a simple game sound complex! Sorry, about that.)
Yes, pitching silver dollars was a simple, exciting game that all ages could participate in. I can remember that the adults would string lights over the court (pitching lane) each night before dark. As the winning team continues to play until they are defeated by an opposing twosome, the more skilled teams would obviously play many more games than a less skilled team. These tournaments and Christmas Eve were about the only occasions that I ever remember Paw Paw staying up past 7:00 PM. Maw Maw occasionally would stay up to 9:00 PM when we were there. Oh! The games people play. (That would make a good song for someone like Joe South to sing, wouldn’t it? Thank you, Joe for that song.)
The woods behind my grandparent’s house played a very important part in my visits to Alabama. When I was a child, I was fascinated with the hollers and the vegetation covering all the hillsides. I later learned that this cover plant was very invasive and not appreciated. It was called kudzu. The hollers were great for sledding on the pine straw using barrel staves as the sled. The pine straw was very slick. Once one got to the bottom of the hill, he would have a tough time returning to the top of that steep hill again as it was extremely slick and hard to climb.
One of my saddest memories is how both Paw Paw and Maw Maw would have a stream of tears running down their cheeks every time that we would leave Alabama. They would wave and watch our car until it disappeared from their sight. It was even made more difficult as our goodbyes lasted 10-15 minutes. It was so very difficult to leave them.
Chilton County was the peach capital of Alabama. I can remember as a child that there were acres and acres of fields with rows and rows of peach trees. It was quite the sight for young inquisitive eyes. My grandfather had a very small peach farm on his tillable land. It was very small scale. While many of his neighbors were professional peach farmers, he and my Uncle Derris, basically grew peaches only for their own pleasure. As far as I know they never attempted to market them. There was a large peach distribution operation near their property named Bentley’s Packing Shed. Loads of peaches were taken to this facility where they were inspected (culled) and boxed (crated) for shipping. I remember observing many large trucks parked around the facility waiting to be loaded. Yes, peaches were big business in Chilton County.
Paw Paw died in 1975 and Maw Maw died in 1989. Both are buried near Red Bay, Alabama. It is interesting that both sets of my grandparents are buried in the same cemetery. There will be more about the Spearmans in a chapter named “Fun in Alabama” in the sub-section following this one titled My First 24 Years.
My Family
My Parents
My parents were Murphy and Gertrude Spearman Morrow. (How many people reading this have an Uncle Murphy or Aunt Gertrude? I bet no one has an Aunt Gertrude married to an Uncle Murphy unless you happen to be one of my 22 living first-cousins!) They moved to Missouri from Alabama in December of 1947. It was very difficult to make a good living in post-war Alabama in the late 1940’s. That was particularly true for farmers. The small, hilly farms had their share of large rocks that were not compatible with farming success. My parents and grandparents decided that a change was necessary. In late 1947, my father and grandfather began searching for farms that were available for a reasonable price. When they visited southeast Missouri, they found and purchased adjoining farms that met that criterion. The farms were located between Charleston and Sikeston and were 20 miles west of Cairo, Illinois. My mom, dad, brother, and I left in December of 1947 for the promise land. In this case, the promise land was Bertrand, Missouri. (I wonder what Moses would have thought of Bertrand!) The land was flat and very sandy; nevertheless, it was a significant improvement over their Alabama property.
My siblings and I were very fortunate to be raised in a Christian home with parents that loved us. My parents were charter members of the First Baptist Church of Bertrand. My mother initially named this new church the First Missionary Baptist Church of Bertrand. Since our Church was to be associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, she had to rename it First Baptist Church of Bertrand. There just happened to be a small, separate denomination named Missionary Baptist. I certainly can understand both denominations’ concerns.
Our parents taught us to be respectful of all people and to offer a helping hand to those in need. We also were taught that if one works hard and keeps his/her nose clean, he/she has a real good chance to live a fulfilling life. (They pushed a strong work ethic.) They both lamented the fact that they did not receive a proper education. That fact made them more determined that their children were going to get the “good education” that they were unable to attain.
My brother and I did not have what I would call a strict upbringing. Both of us were very good kids that stayed out of trouble. My parents, however, were much stricter with our younger sister, Kay, (also a very good child) when she became of dating age. I suppose their old-fashioned way of thinking was that it was much easier for a female to get in trouble than it was for males. Although wrong and gender biased, it was not an uncommon way of parenting at that time.
Other than our twice a year visits to Alabama, we did not travel very extensively when I was young. Now let’s move forward several years when I was single and in my mid-thirties. (And I digress!) One of my favorite trips was driving my parents in the summer of 1983 to visit my brother and family in Colorado Springs. Spending two days on the road each way with my parents when I was 35 years old was very nice. That part of Colorado is so beautiful. Unfortunately, one has to drive through Kansas and eastern Colorado to get there. We had a wonderful reunion as my sister and family joined us by driving there from Westwego, Louisiana. (Sorry, that I am digressing from my first 24 years theme, but I think it is relevant.)
I immediately noticed the change in altitude as I was very short of breath while I was in Colorado. While there, we visited the Air Force Academy, Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge, and Cripple Creek. Unfortunately, this was the first time that I noticed that my dad was having major health problems. He struggled with a bout of dizziness on the swinging bridge at Royal Gorge and soon thereafter ran into a closet mirror in Cripple Creek. I realized then that these issues may be a precursor to serious health issues that could be ahead for my father. (Again, I apologize for digressing!)
Moving back to our younger years, I will again stress that all three of us were good kids and gave our parents very few problems. Neither of us really had a rebellious streak. When we did cross a line, my parents’ choice for discipline was a skinny, lightweight, brown belt. I am so glad that neither of my parents were screamers. They never issued continuous idle threats. I really dislike the loud noise style of parenting where they do nothing but scream and threaten to spank their children but never follow through. Slapping children is something that I cannot tolerate.
I probably was disciplined with that belt fewer than three or four times in my entire childhood. Mostly, my mom disciplined me those rare times with two or three strikes. I probably really needed it. I was a quick learner. Neither of my parents physically hurt me! It was our feelings much more than it was our our body that took the brunt of the punishment. I can remember those three words that hurt more than the physical part of the punishment. Those words were “get the belt!” (That small belt was a dedicated belt and it lasted for many years!) I respected my parents. I certainly do not hate them for disciplining me. Unfortunately, in today’s world, it is likely that they would have had visits from social services, as these government agencies have continuously demonstrated that they are the “experts” in child rearing (sarcasm intended). I am a strong believer in discipline and order and I respect authority. I do not believe that it takes a village. Instead, it takes more vigilant parenting. In today’s world, there are too many parents that take the modern view and simply fail to correct their children and fail to teach them to respect authority. One can see where that viewpoint has taken us.
My parents were wonderful. I had a great childhood. I always respected and loved them both. We had many good times together as a family. Dad left this world in late ’93 and mom passed in early 1998. Mom and dad, I look forward to seeing you again in Heaven someday!
The picture below is one of my favorites as my two siblings and I appear to be so excited about having our picture taken together. I think that this photo may have been taken in 1951 or 1952. Yes, our parents can be proud of their three very happy and photogenic children!
My Father
And the last paragraph of that letter above stated, “I love you three kids and all my grandchildren and great grandchildren. We will all meet on that beautiful shore. What a glorious day that will be! Love, Dad.
My father’s given name was Alvin Murphy Morrow. He answered to Murphy. My father was born in Red Bay, Alabama, on September 21, 1919. He had three brothers (Richard, Gordon, and Raymond) and four sisters (Alma, Willie, Alta, and Louise). He was the fifth born of his siblings that actually reached 20 years old. He did have siblings who died at childbirth or as very young children. His older sister, Alta, died from complications from giving birth to my cousin, Imogene. His brother’s (Gordon) plane was shot down during World War II over the Baltic Sea.
Dad and his siblings grew up during the Depression. The Great Depression paralyzed all of the United States and hit the South extremely hard. It certainly played a huge role on my father’s philosophy and actions as an adult.
My dad was a very quiet man. In fact, no one can conclude that I did not come by my shyness naturally as both of my parents were extremely shy. Although very shy, he certainly did not back away from encouraging his children to attain a good education. Although, my dad never actually told my brother or me directly not to be farmers, he certainly did not encourage us either. Neither of us ever did any of the complex farm activities like planting or cultivating that would have prepared us for a farming livelihood later in life. Neither my brother nor I regretted our father’s action. We were simply not destined to be farmers.
My dad indicated to me that he never regularly attended school after the first two or three years. He would be taken out of school to work the fields as a young child. He inferred that after the second or third grade, his teachers would just pass him on to the next grade. I do not know what the official record would show regarding his formal education. I do know that he had difficulty reading menus and the letters that Maw Maw Spearman would write to my mom. If I had to venture a guess, I would think he may have read at somewhere between a fourth and fifth grade level. Although he may have had little formal education, he certainly did not have a low IQ and he certainly exhibited loads of common sense. I am certain that his lack of education was the reason that he was so obsessed about his children’s education.
My dad was good with his hands and expected me to possess those same skills. He was very demanding and and was often extremely critical of me. (This tells me that my lack of patience comes naturally.) My brother was not quite as mechanically inept as me; however, he probably would agree that he was not very gifted in that department either. At the sake of being repetitive, I will say one more time, dad implored all three of his children to get a good education. And for that obsession, I am very grateful.
My dad certainly was a homebody. He did not fish or hunt. He was very uncomfortable at events or places with large crowds. As a survivor of the Great Depression, he was very frugal and practical and was very appreciative of the things that he did possess. He was a perfectionist and took a lot of pride in his work ethic and his workmanship. I always thought that he, too often, let people take advantage of him. He really liked to help people and was very unselfish with his time.
Another memory that popped into my head is how my father loved maps. He could sit in his chair looking at maps for hours. He would drive from city to city with his fingers. He, also, was fascinated with a very nice world globe that was attached to a stand that I gifted him one year for his birthday. He set the stand by his chair and would spin the globe looking for foreign countries that the newscaster had just mentioned. He had a very inquisitive mind about geography and where places were located. My sister informed me that while I was in Vietnam, dad would follow me on his large map of Vietnam if I mentioned a place or village in Vietnam in one of my letters. If a news reporter mentioned any city or village in Vietnam, he absolutely had to locate it on the map.
He also loved to watch the CBS Evening News with Douglas Edwards or Walter Cronkite and the local news with Don McNeely of KFVS in Cape Girardeau. He simply would not miss watching both the world and the local news, if he was home. Like most farmers, I do not think that he ever missed a local weather report.
On Sunday afternoons, our living room became a barbershop for my father as he would give two or three of his relatives a haircut about every Sunday. He was a very good barber, particularly, if you wanted a short haircut. He was the best flat top barber that ever cut my hair. I probably received my first haircut at the barbershop in Charleston when I was 14 or 15.
Dad would polish and shine his two pairs of dress shoes about every Sunday morning before going to church services. He would shine and shine away as we all watched and listened to the Sunday morning gospel groups sing on TV. Yes, he shined both pairs even though he could only wear one of the pairs each Sunday. I do think that he wore the same pair to both morning and evening services. Did I tell you that he liked to polish and shine his shoes?
He enjoyed watching baseball, basketball, and football. Several times in my younger years, I went to St. Louis with my Dad and his friend, Ray Strickland. We would go on Sundays and watch Cardinal doubleheaders. I loved those days. Strangely enough, I cannot remember him ever watching me play baseball after Little League. He did, however, attend most of my home high school basketball games. He and Mom even drove to several away games.
I can remember that he liked to watch TV shows like “I Love Lucy”. “Father Knows Best”, “As the World Turns”, “Dobie Gillis”, “The Red Skelton Show”,”Perry Mason”, and “60 minutes”, just to name a few. Note that most, if not all, were CBS productions. We received CBS from Cape Girardeau, NBC from Paducah, Kentucky, and ABC from Harrisburg, Illinois. We did not get very good reception from the ABC affiliate, thus, we rarely watched anything on that network. In later years, he added “Hee Haw”, “Murphy Brown”, “The Carol Burnett Show”, “Gunsmoke”, “Rockford Files”, and “Hawaii 5 O” to the must watch list. Like in most families, my dad controlled what we watched. It is surprising that I was able to watch “Shindig” and “Hullabaloo”, two of my favorite music shows in the 60’s. I must have snatched the remote from him on the nights of their airing! (On second thought there was no such thing as a remote at this time!)
He was a life-long Democrat, but he thought more like a Republican. (He actually voted Republican one time and that was a vote against George McGovern and not a vote for Richard Nixon.) He was very conservative. I cannot imagine what he would have thought of President Trump’s salty language or the Democrats’ stand on abortion, gay marriage, and now socialism. (Does that vote against McGovern give us a clue? I just do not know.) I refuse to believe that he would continue to follow the radical agenda of his old party. He once said to me, “I can’t believe I raised three Republicans.” I really got a kick out of that comment as I was a conservative and, at that time, not necessarily a Republican. Since the Democratic Party has completely ran off the rails, I suppose that he may have been right about me after all.
My dad was great with woodworking. The woodworking tools were magic in his hands. He really enjoyed building furniture. In my opinion, his greatest achievement was a built-in china closet that he crated for my mom. It was very detailed and intricate. He also built our beautiful kitchen cabinets and an impressive dining bar that served as our main kitchen table during my childhood. Finally, his conversion of our original, small one car garage to a fancy laundry/utility/storage room was not only beautiful, but also, so very functional.
One of my favorite possessions is a very nice bookshelf that he built for my first apartment in 1973. Unfortunately, it was built in a style of the old entertainment centers; thus, a flat screen TV will not fit on it. I do still have it and use it for books and collectibles in our front tv-room. I could never let it go. Dad could build anything; however, he was not fast. It had to be perfect or he would start all over! He was unbelievably talented with his hands.
In 1969, my dad was moving equipment from the Wolf Island farm to the home farm in Bertrand. He was driving a piece of equipment known as a hiboy sprayer. He was on a blacktop road and hit a hole and it toppled over. When I look at an early design hiboy, I see danger written all over it. A hiboy is used to spray chemicals on a crop as it is approaching maturity. The early hiboys almost had the appearance of a huge, tall tricycle and always appeared to be totally out of balance. The accident really messed him up. He suffered from broken wrists, shoulder injuries, and other internal injuries.
He was never the same physically, emotionally, or mentally after that accident. He dwelled on his inability to do the routine farm activities that he formerly could do. His manual dexterity, particularly, his woodworking, and other motor skills, really suffered. This accident had a very negative effect on him during the last 20 or so years of his life. My father was a noticeably different man after 1969.
My father passed in 1993 after some very difficult years with health problems. I was proud to get the education that he so frequently spoke of before he passed. It really pleased him as I was the first in either of my grandparents’ families to receive a bachelors degree. Even though my dad was extremely tough on me at times for lacking common mechanical or woodworking skills and often ridiculed and belittled me, he was a good man that meant well. I really do miss him.
My Mother
My mother’s full name was Etna Gertrude Spearman Morrow. She answered to either Gertrude or Trudie. My mother was born in Fulton, Mississippi on July 30, 1918. She had two siblings, Delcia and Ray. Delcia was the eldest child and was two years older than my mother. Ray was five years younger.
Like my dad, she was shy and very quiet. Although having completed only the eighth or ninth grade, she was extremely intelligent. She lived with very poor health and always experienced a lot of pain. In her lifetime, she had a high number of surgeries – in the double digits. Her pain tolerance level was remarkably high. She rarely, if ever, complained.
Mom was my rock and was a great supporter. She would try to build me back up after my dad had just belittled me. She always was very positive about my future and, like my dad, always stressed getting a good education. She had failed to graduate from Myrtle High School in Myrtle, Mississippi and I know that she always regretted it. She loved playing six-girl basketball during her time in the Myrtle school system. One thing that always really surprised me was that botany was her favorite subject in school. I like flowers and trees, but studying about them seems almost as boring as studying something like — lets say “statistics” for example. (Now, why would I say such a ridiculous thing? After all, I made my living with statistics and statistical analysis. Of course, I was just teasing as no one really thinks statistics is boring!)
Even with her tremendous pain, mom was a very hard worker. One of my most vivid memories was seeing my mom limping (from all her surgeries) from the garden toward the house with a bucket full of tomatoes. Either Kay or I would run to meet her and carry the tomatoes for her. She was too stubborn and independent to have asked anyone to help her. She was very talented and could do about anything around the house. She obviously had a much greater aptitude for performing mechanical skills than I did.
One negative characteristic of my mom was that she would do some of the things for me that I did not want to do. A good example was talking on the phone. She made the calls that I should have made. She would perform some of the chores that I neglected to do. She was a doer and a hard worker! I suppose, in that sense, that she was an enabler. I simply relied on her to do some of the hard stuff that big boys must do when they grow up. In the end, it took me longer than it should have to become independent. Unfortunately, I still dislike talking on the phone.
One of the things that makes me proud was that my siblings and I gave our mother the opportunity to travel after my father passed on. She took her first flight in 1995. It was a flight from New Orleans to Las Vegas to visit my brother. Mom really could not believe the strip in Las Vegas with all the glitter and lights. In 1996, she took her second flight from New Orleans to St. Louis to visit me in Springfield, Illinois. My sister and her ex-husband took her on many trips and destinations after she moved to Westwego, Louisiana, in early 1994.
In 1986, I was happy to take my mom and dad to Chicago (‘Sircargo’ as my mom pronounced it.) Mom had always heard of Chicago and thought of it as a mythical or magical place, but she never dreamed of or expected to ever be there. We stayed a couple of nights in the Conrad Hilton and she could not get over the opulence of the chandeliers in the huge ballroom or simply the magnificence of the old hotel overall. Yes, Chicago was a world away from the Bertrand that she knew. My dad and mom were amazed when we visited the Museum of Science and Industry. Of course, we had to push them both in wheelchairs as that place is huge and requires a lot of walking.
Two of my favorite times with my mom was when she, Marlene, Tiffany, and I visited Door County Wisconsin (Cape Cod of the Midwest) in 1996 and Gulf Shores, Alabama in 1997. Those two trips were a blast. Just imagine, I had my three favorite girls with me at the same place at the same time and it was a joyous time, as my other favorite girl, Kay, and family joined us in Gulf Shores. I will never forget, walking with my mom, hand-in-hand, on the beautiful beach at Gulf Shores. What a precious memory that is.
My mom really liked nice and stylish clothes. In fact, her taste must have been very similar to mine as she could always buy me clothes that I liked. I can remember only one item of clothing that she gifted to me that I would not wear. That was a Nehru jacket that was popular in the middle to late 60’s. I just hated that style for some reason. She also liked designer colognes and she had lots of different ones. Her walls were always covered with Home Interior decorations as she really liked their products. Also, I think she kept Fingerhut in business as she bought about everything that they ever sold. She certainly was not as frugal as my father.
My mother absolutely loved our bi-yearly trips to Alabama. She would plan for it weeks before we were to leave. She and maw maw exchanged letters about every two weeks. She would read maw maw’s letters and tears would form in her eyes. “I wish that I could visit them more often” was a comment that I frequently heard. She would get more and more excited as the time for our visit approached. I can remember when my grandparents first got their telephone. Maw Maw and mom would talk quite frequently. All of us would get our turn to speak to our grandmother. Those calls really cheered up my mom.
I think one of my mother’s greatest regrets was taking her doctor’s advice one specific time in the middle to late 90’s. Let me explain. I was visiting my mom in Louisiana one time, (probably in 1996) when she began bawling. I asked her, “what is wrong?” Her reply floored me. “I want to see my brother and my doctor says I cannot travel.” My sister and I tried to convince her to go anyway, but she refused. An ailing brother was failing quickly just like my mom was. She realized that this would have been their final time together. That opportunity passed and Uncle Ray passed shortly thereafter. My mom would die about one year later. I generally believe that a physician’s advice is right-on; however, in this case, I wholeheartedly disagreed as both had a short time to live and this visit would have brought joy to both of them. Mom had already made the arrangements only to have to cancel them. Disappointment is not a strong enough word for her emotion at that time.
Growing up, I never had to ask for money as she always anticipated when I needed it. She was unbelievable in that respect. Do you need any money? I always questioned in my mind, “how did she know”? I never really wanted for anything as a kid. I had what I thought I needed and really did not ever want that much. I never felt poor, but I knew that our family certainly was not rich. We were rich only in the respect that we had Christ in our life.
Mom was a great cook. It was simple and it was southern style which meant that we had a lot of fried foods. She made wonderful fried okra and fried green tomatoes. Our daily summer noon meal was a feast. Our lunch meal was the main meal of the day and we called it dinner. The nightly meal was called supper. We had almost every vegetable that one could think of from the garden with the exceptions of broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and rhubarb. We had cantaloupe or melon quite often. One of her specialties and my favorite entre was ham baked with brown sugar. Oh! How I loved that. I also was very fond of purple hull peas, fried green tomatoes, fried okra, fried squash, and smothered bacon lettuce.
Tenderloin was a staple for my family, as we butchered hogs every year. I will never forget eating those wonderful tenderloin steaks for breakfast. I am not fond of the bread pudding that some restaurants serve today; however, my mom made a similar, but much tastier, version of that dessert. She called it cold biscuit pudding and it was delicious. Also, her berry cobblers, banana pudding, and pecan pies were fabulous. Wow! I am getting hungry!
Her greatest handicap was that she never had a drivers license. That did have a great effect on our family’s mobility when I grew up. She hated to be dependent but that was her status. She was mum about politics, but I think she may have been a closet Republican. Although, she rarely felt very well, she had a wonderful sense of humor. Not everyone saw it as she was a very shy woman.
My mom was a brave lady. About one week or ten days after my father passed away, an intruder broke into her house through one of the bedroom windows. It awakened her as she was sleeping in the bedroom across the hall. She saw a dark figure slowly walking down the hallway away from her room. She grabbed her curling iron from the nightstand and slipped up behind him and stuck it into his back. She then told him to walk slowly toward the front door, don’t turn around, unlock the door, and start running as fast as he could. Although he complied, it scares me to even think about what could have happened. That was some quick thinking on her part. She made a decision after the ordeal that night to move to Westwego, Louisiana (near Kay), as she no longer felt safe in her house alone. She was living in Westwego within a couple of weeks. I can remember that Tiffany and I went to visit her on the weekend prior to her moving to Louisiana. We were all so sad as this was a big change in all our lives. That was January of 1994 and it was the last time that I was ever in the house where I grew up.
My mother was a remarkable lady and I could never write enough good things about her. She was loving, kind, gentle, intelligent, creative, considerate, brave, and giving. She loved her children and grandchildren. I certainly would not have traded her for anyone. I had a wonderful childhood. I really miss my Mother. She passed in early 1998. She had so many physical ailments, but she never complained. I witnessed her agony first hand and it broke my heart. Mother in Heaven, I love you!
My Brother
My brother, Robert Lee Morrow, was born on August 14, 1939, in Red Bay, Alabama. He was named after his grandfathers, Robert Morrow and Lee Spearman. When he was eight years old, the family moved to a farm near Bertrand, Missouri. After completing his first two years of grade school in Red Bay, Bob completed his elementary education at Diehlstadt Grade School. He attended his freshman and sophomore years at Diehlstadt High School. In 1956, he transferred to Charleston High School where he graduated in 1957.
Bob entered Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) in Cape Girardeau in the fall of 1957. After attending SEMO for a couple of years, Bob received a baseball scholarship and attended Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana in 1960. Bob was a record setting pitcher for the fledgling Colonels baseball team for two years. He pitched the first no-hitter in the University’s young history and held the strike-out record for many years. In 1962, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds. He played his minor-league ball in Tampa in the Florida State League. During his minor league career, he was a relief pitcher. He served as the Tampa Tarpon’s closer several years before the term “closer” was even part of the baseball vernacular.
In his second year at Nicholls State University, he met a young 19 year old coed named Anna Lee Chauvin. Anna Lee describes herself as proud cajun. Bob and Anna Lee were married in 1962 and now have been together for 58 years. She has always been Bob’s greatest supporter and fan. They have a very strong, loving commitment to each other.
In early 1964, Dana Lynn Morrow was born in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She spent the first summer of her life in Tampa, Florida, with her dad and mom. I would venture to guess that Anna Lee and Dana never missed an inning of Tarpin baseball that season. Of course, as a relief pitcher, Bob pitched quite frequently that summer. I am confident that I can safely report that Dana remembers nothing about that first year.
Upon leaving professional baseball after more than two years, he and his wife and young daughter, Dana, moved to Festus, Missouri. He had lived in Festus for three summers in his late teens when he pitched for the Twin City Reds (Festus-Crystal City, Missouri), a team that competed in the Missouri-Illinois Ban Johnson League. Bob pitched for the semi-pro Mexico Sports in 1966. The Mexico Sports from Mexico, Missouri, were one of the best Semi-pro teams in the nation and, according to Bob, were managed like a professional team. Everything was first class!
After he left professional baseball in 1965, Bob became a very good softball pitcher. He pitched for Springfield Quality Furniture in the early 70’s. That team won an Illinois AA softball championship in either 1973 or 1974. I had the privilege of playing on two teams with my brother. In 1965, he pitched and I played shortstop for a very good baseball team in Festus, Missouri. In 1966, a friend from Bertrand, Charlie Naile, and I played on a softball team where he was our main pitcher. I played shortstop and Charlie played left field.
Returning to Missouri in 1965, Bob first worked at Sears in the appliances department. In his next job, he was a sales representative for a wholesaler (Shermer in St. Louis) that sold Sylvania TV’s and Gibson appliances to retail stores in his district.
While living in Festus in 1967, his second daughter Elizabeth Ann (Beth) was born. Bob, Anna Lee, and the two daughters later lived in Farmington and Flat River, Missouri. Eventually, they moved to Taylorville, Illinois in 1971.
While living in Taylorville, he landed an executive sales position with a chemical company headquartered in Atlanta (Oxford). He later became a vice president of sales for a chemical company located in New Orleans named Napalco. With the last position, he moved to Slidell, Louisiana. These sales positions were a precursor for his long career in the real estate industry. He began his real estate career in Slidell, Louisiana. Later, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Las Vegas, Nevada. At each of these locations, he was the sales manager for a large builder and was very successful.
After Bob (2006) and I retired (2004), he and I talked on the phone with each other on a bi-weekly basis. We are both baseball fanatics; therefore, we both felt it was our duty to critique Mo (John Mozeliak), the St. Louis Cardinals General Manager, on his off season acquisitions. Unfortunately, in the last few seasons, it has been Mo’s lack of acquisitions that we have criticized. Get it done, Mo! We love our Cardinals!
My favorite player as a child was always Enos Slaughter while Stan Musial was always Bob’s hero. Over the years, Bob and I had many discussions about who was the better Cardinal player. (I suppose that I will have to concede that Stan was the better player; nevertheless, I still like Enos!)
In 1957, Bing Devine, the Card’s head of scouting, invited Bob to pitch a bullpen session before a Cards game. (He was told to add 15-20 pounds to his skinny frame!) He actually was able to meet his hero, Stan. My father and my brother had driven to St. Louis with a local implement dealer from Charleston, Missouri, named Andy French. That implement dealer just happened to be the scout who had signed Stan to his first contract in Denora, Pennsylvania. Fast forward about eight or nine years. Stan was the guest speaker at one of Bob’s employer events in St. Louis. After Mr. Musial completed his speech, Bob went up to say hello and Stan remembered him. That certainly was one of the highlights of Bob’s life.
In 2006, Bob retired, and moved to Amite, Louisiana, where he currently resides with his wife Anna Lee. Bob has two daughters, Dana and Beth, six grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.
In 2013, Bob was selected to the Nicholls State University Baseball Hall of Fame in recognition of his pitching career at the University. He was so proud and emotional about his selection. Of course, all his friends and relatives were extremely proud of him. Kay and I were both able to attend. Ironically, he was honored on our father’s birthday!
Author’s Update: When I began writing this in early March of 2020, Bob had been struggling with health issues for several years and was requiring 24-hour care. I regret to report that Bob passed away on July 13, 2020. He was a wonderful brother who my sister and I dearly loved. He was my hero! I cannot imagine how difficult that it must have been for him not to be independent these last few years. He and Anna Lee were happily married for 58 years and were totally committed to each other. I love them both dearly and never have forgotten the important role that they played in my life! He would have been 81 years old on August 14, 2020. He will be greatly missed by all of us. Rest in peace my “big brubber!”
My Sister
My sister, Sandra Kay Morrow Langley, was born in Sikeston, Missouri on December 18, 1949. I can remember when my mother brought her home from the hospital that I hid as I certainly did not want a “little baby sister” seeking the attention that I deserved. (Yes, my behavior has always made a lot of sense.) Kay and I had a happy childhood growing up together. I suppose that we eventually were able to adjust to each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies. Like me, she also enjoyed eating mud pies and building “toad frog” houses. Like me, she hated picking blackberries, cutting the grass, and visiting places in our father’s farm truck. Like me, she knew we were getting close to Maw Maw and Paw Paw Spearman’s house just by the smell in the air. Apparently, there is a secret frequency that only Kay and Glen are able to access regarding smells.
Kay liked to listen to music and to dance. Her taste in music was similar to mine with the exception that she liked country music more than I did. We both liked popular and gospel music. Her claim to fame was that she actually was able to see the real Elvis in concert. I can only boast of seeing several fake Elvises. I have heard a lot of fat Elvises that could sing as well as the real Elvis; however, none had his charisma.
I can remember a slumber party that she hosted where she and her friends almost witnessed a theft in progress outside her window. They did hear something but did not see anything. (It was a theft of many gallons of tomato juice from our locked smokehouse!) I am surprised that the loud noise and pattering of feet from the dancing did not frighten the thief. Strangely, the culprit’s son, a classmate of the slumbering girls, confessed that it was his father that committed the crime. I hope he enjoyed our tomato juice. I can remember my dad stating,”his family probably needs it more than we do!”
Kay attended the first four years of elementary school at Diehlstadt Grade School. She attended grades 5 through 8 at Bertrand Grade School. Kay attended Charleston High school her freshman year and Kelly High School her sophomore year. She returned to Charleston High School for her last two years, graduating in 1967.
Kay likes to laugh. I can remember all the laugh sessions in Alabama when she would get together with cousins Doreen, Sue, and Dianne. They had such a good time catching up on all the lost time. The cousins did not see each very often during their childhood; however, when they did, they made up for it and celebrated with vigor. One might say they were very loud.
Kay always thought that our parents were too strict on her when she became dating age. I do agree that they were much more strict on her than they were on Bob and me. I also would have to concur that they went a little overboard on that issue! Unfortunately, I think many parents of girls of that era kowtowed to that method of over-strict parenting.
Kay had a very good and strong voice and initially sang duets with my brother, Bob, at the First Baptist Church of Bertrand. When she was very young, she would stand upon a chair to sing with her big brother. At 11 or 12 years old, she began performing solos at our church. In the last few years that she attended the First Baptist Church, she teamed up with our Cousin, Steve. They were very good!
After graduation from high school, Kay attended Southeast Missouri State University for one year. She worked at Malone and Hyde in Sikeston for a few years. In 1974, Kay moved to Springfield, Illinois and began working at the Illinois Department of Revenue.
In 1977, Kay married Patrick Langley and moved to Pascagoula, Mississippi, where Pat worked in security at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Kay and Pat moved to Sikeston in 1979. That year their daughter, Courtney, was born in Sikeston. The family returned to the south in 1981 and eventually moved to Westwego, Louisiana, which is near New Orleans. Their daughter, Samantha, was born in Marrero, Louisiana in August of 1982.
Kay was a stay-at-home housewife until 2002 when she experienced an unfortunate divorce. Being out of the workforce since 1977, she had to scramble to find a job to support herself. She eventually landed a position with the Jefferson Parish school district as a paraprofessional. She is completing her 19th year in the school system and she is contemplating retirement next year. I am very proud of her and her accomplishment. I have heard from more than one source that she is beloved by both the teachers and students.
She has health issues as she suffers from significant back pain. That is not good when one’s job constantly requires her to be on her feet. Also, she works with preschool children that she frequently has to lift, which only exacerbates her pain. After living in Westwego for more than 35 years, she now resides in Marrero, Louisiana, just a few miles from Westwego.
Kay has a daughter who shares my wife’s passion for travel. She and the grandchildren keep Kay extremely busy as they travel the beautiful United States of America. As I write this, they are returning from a trip to New York City. As Kay’s students got a week off for Mardi Gras, Samantha, Kay, and family took advantage of this opportunity to travel. Since Samantha, Kay’s youngest daughter, has a bachelors degree in Art History from the University of New Orleans, she is great as a tour director for Kay and her family.
Kay is single and has two daughters, Courtney and Samantha. Courtney has one child, Zoe, while Samantha has two young children, Holland and Rhys, whom their maw maw dotes on.
Kay and I can spend an hour on the phone. Previously, I mentioned how I dislike talking on the phone. For some reason, however, I do not have a problem talking to my sister. (I am sure that she would say that she does all the talking and it is because she is so interesting.) I love my sister dearly and see her too infrequently!
My Daughter
Tiffany’s birth was such a great, joyous event. My daughter was born on September 7, 1982 in Springfield, Illinois. She was given the name Tiffany Michelle Morrow. I have always called her Tiff. She was born with a smile on her face. She had and has a wonderful disposition. She rarely cried and was sleeping through the night at a very tender age. She is still quiet, she now cries even less, and she sometimes sleeps through the night.
Unfortunately, her mom and I divorced in 1983; however, our parting was relatively amicable as we agreed that Tiffany was the most important thing to consider in our divorce agreement. (Tiffany has a sister three years older than her named Jennifer and a younger sister named Hannah.) I had visitation with Tiff every other weekend and on Wednesdays after work on the off weeks. It was extremely difficult for me to leave her after my visits. She often would go on vacations with me in the summer and other times when she was old enough to travel. Tiff’s mom and I always tried very hard to keep everything civil for our daughter’s sake and I did appreciate that.
One could not have asked for a better behaved child. She never gave me one iota of trouble. I supposed she saved up all her bad behavior for her mom to deal with. Her mom’s reports, however, were that she exhibited the same behavior at home. Now let’s talk about Tiff’s bad traits.
I was just teasing as I know of none unless losing her Dad’s phone number is one. Yes, Tiff you should call your Dad more often. His life should be less complicated than yours as he is retired. That means that he should be able and willing to talk with you at any time that you may call.
Tiffany attended kindergarten and most of the early grades at Athens Grade School in Athens, Illinois. She attended Bollingbrook Grade school, near Chicago, for one year and subsequently returned to Athens. In the fifth grade, Tiffany moved to Jacksonville, Illinois. She graduated from 8th grade at Jacksonville’s Turner Middle School in 1996 and from Jacksonville High School. She is one of the lucky kids that can say that she graduated in the class of 2000. Marlene and I attended that beautiful ceremony at the Jacksonville Bowl. It was a hot, crowded, and wonderful event.
We went on some awesome trips when she was a child. We visited New Orleans, Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Door County in Wisconsin. Of course, she was able to visit her grandparent’s home in Bertrand many times.
We visited my mom two or three times after she moved to Westwego, Louisiana. On one of those trips, we visited New Orleans. The picture above was taken in Jackson Square in the summer of 1993 or 1994. I know that she visited her great grandmother in Thorsby, Alabama at least once, and possibly twice. (I love the picture of her and four generations before her that I placed at the very top of this article.) She was, also, fortunate enough to visit France and England after her graduation in 2000. That was a very memorable trip for her.
One special memory relates to a summer that Tiff and I visited Thorsby, Alabama. Tiffany, her cousins (Courtney and Samantha), and I decided to camp out. We made a makeshift tent in maw maw’s yard and a strong wind preceded a very hard rain. If that is not enough, a dinosaur tried to get into our tent. I am sorry, Sam, that I scared you! It turned out that what I thought was a dinosaur was only a large dog. That dog really wanted into our tent. As a result, my niece, Sam, has never spoken to me after that episode. I was bad. We woke up the next morning cold and wet. As I consider it more than 30 years later, I do not think that it was such a good idea to sleep out that night.
Tiffany married Randy Roth in 2003. After several years in the Navy, (lived in Norfolk, Virginia and Groton, Connecticut) they now reside in Jacksonville, Illinois. Randy is employed by Reynolds Aluminum in Jacksonville.
They are the parents of my two beautiful grandchildren, Abigail and Austin. Abby is 15 and a freshman at Jacksonville High school while Austin is 12 and is in the 6th grade at Turner Middle School in Jacksonville. Whoa! Abby is starting to drive!
There is one other interesting tidbit. Tiffany, Abby, and Austin have birthdays on the 7th of a month (September, October, and April). Randy does not have a birthday on the 7th. His birthday is on the 11th (February). Seven and eleven are considered lucky numbers, right? If I gambled, I would have to take them to Vegas. I don’t and I won’t. The kids already have enough distractions in the world today! I love those kids!
Tiff, like her dad, is very quiet and reserved and I am certain that is why she has not put her foot down on this issue. I am sure that most people would consider what I am about to reveal a bad thing and totally unacceptable behavior. She tolerates three people in her family that are willing to wear a Chicago Cubs hat inside her house. And to top it off, they would not have a problem wearing those hats in public places where people could actually see them. I have offered to buy them three Cardinals hats, but all they will say is “no that’s okay.” Can’t they see that a red hat is prettier than a blue one? Where did I go wrong? I guess that I will just have to work harder at converting them to St. Louis Cardinals fans. I still love them in spite of this serious character flaw!
Tiffany is my pride and joy and I think Randy is a keeper. I love all four Roths and I think that I may hold on to them!.
My Wife
I met my lovely wife, Marlene, in September of 1989 at a singles conference in Springfield, Illinois. (I have included a video that tells the story of Marlene and me at the end of the My Love Life chapter of the My First 24 Years sub-section!} After a rough start, we began dating in October of 1989. After dating for almost a year, we were married on September 22, 1990.
Marlene was born in Guthrie Center, Iowa, to Richard and Hazel Miller. She had three siblings including Melvin, Marilyn, and Maurice (deceased). She attended country grade schools and graduated from Guthrie Center High School.
As I said, Marlene was educated in the country schools of Guthrie County Iowa. We shared a good chuckle when she spoke of having just one classmate through the fifth grade. (In the sixth grade, she had no classmates!) I laughed out loud when she shared the story of how her teacher would prepare their meals at lunch time. Can you imagine how today’s teachers unions would react to that added responsibility? I cannot imagine what she must have felt when she first began attending the seventh grade in the city schools with the more normal classes of 20 – 30 students. I think that the size of her Guthrie Center High School graduating class was somewhat larger than my class at Kelly High School in Benton, Missouri which was about 65.
Girls basketball has always been popular in Iowa, probably more popular than boys basketball. In 1963, she was a member of the state champion basketball team, the Guthrie Center High School Tigerettes. At that time, girls in Iowa played six person basketball with three offensive players on one end of the court and three defensive players on the other end. She was a defensive player which means that she could not cross the center line and could never shoot the basketball in a high school game.
Marlene, however, can shoot that round ball! One memory that I never will forget is when Marlene and Anna Lee, my sister-in-law, beat my brother and me (two sharpshooters from the past) in h-o-r-s-e. How embarrassing. Our excuse was that we let them win. Just between you and me, the fact is that they beat us fair and square. How does one ever live that down?
I attended the state championship finals in Des Moines in the early 90’s as the State of Iowa was transitioning from six-girl to five-girl basketball. At that tournament, the finals for both styles of the game were played. I really enjoyed that night as I could compare the two versions of girls basketball. I enjoyed both styles of the game.
Marlene’s ’63 Tigerettes team was honored in Des Moines on the 50th anniversary of their championship game in 2013. She flew from Bradenton, Florida to Des Moines to participate in the honor. In 2018, Marlene’s championship team served as the Grand Marshall of the Guthrie Center July 4th Parade (It was the 55th anniversary of their state title. In Iowa in 1963, there was only one class of high schools which makes their feat even more impressive.) The celebration was in conjunction with a Guthrie Center High School All-School Reunion (Homecoming) that had a very good attendance. During that weekend, a historian came to Guthrie Center as part of a research team that was making a documentary on six-girl basketball in Iowa. She and all of her teammates were interviewed for that video. I attended the formal presentation relating to this project and found the history of the girls game in Iowa very interesting. Yes, girls high school basketball in Iowa is a really big deal!
We stayed at beautiful Lake Panorama which is very close to where Marlene and her siblings grew up. Marlene’s brother arranged a tour to view the lake by pontoon boat. This is significant as it was the only way to reach their grandparents homestead that was sold in the late sixties. Their former land was later flooded when Lake Panorama was created. That ride brought back many pleasant memories to Marlene, Marilyn, and Melvin. It was a beautiful day and a great boat ride.
She graduated from Iowa State University in Ames with a B.S. degree in Food and Nutrition. She completed an internship at the University of Iowa Medical Center in Iowa City. She completed her Masters in Applied Nutrition at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
Marlene was a Registered Dietitian and worked as a consultant for several years. She was the Chief Clinical Dietitian and a Diabetes Educator at St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur and Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Illinois, during the last 15 years of her career.
She frequently appeared on a local Decatur, Illinois TV news show in a live segment called “Ask the Expert” where she addressed questions from the TV audience relating to food and nutrition. She also was frequently a guest on one of Decatur’s local radio shows. I realize that I am biased, but I think that Marlene is a very accomplished woman.
Marlene is a very intelligent person. She has an extremely inquisitive mind. She cannot get enough of current events and news. She is always very well informed on almost any subject. She is significantly more social than I am. She really likes people and certainly likes to mingle. She claims to be shy, but I do not see any evidence of that. She certainly has had a positive influence on me – possibly not as much as she would like. I do often agree to go to events that I before never would have considered. I did, however, draw an inflexible line at attending either opera or ballet. In fact, I actually passed on an opportunity to attend “Swan Lake” with Marlene in St. Petersburg, Russia in the summer of 2019. She loved it!
Marlene loves to travel. She has visited all 50 states, several countries in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, South America, and Europe. In the last two years, we have visited England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, and Russia. The Great Britain-Ireland trip was a bus tour while the Baltic countries tour was a cruise. We really loved them both!
True to form, one of the first places that she wants to visit in a new country is the produce markets. I do not think that she has ever found a vegetable that she does not like. I am still a work in progress. I suppose that I am a hard case, but I have made a few changes to my diet – specifically decreasing my salt intake.
Marlene has a son, Nick, and a daughter, Heather. Nick works in the computer industry while Heather works in social services. Nick lives in Chicago and we visit with him two or three times a year. Heather lives in Springfield, Illinois, and we see her about every week that we are in Illinois.
In 2014 the Miller siblings’ family farm was recognized as being a “Heritage Farm” at the Iowa State Fair. That designation signified that it had been in the Miller family since 1864 (150 years). Wow! The siblings, Vera (Mel’s wife), and I drove from Chicago to Des Moines for this exciting and memorable occasion. The Miller farm was sold in 2015.
Marlene is a wonderful wife and a great person. I do not know what I would do without her. I am very lucky and I know it. She was my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Now, we will dance to our song by The Righteous Brothers which is “Unchained Melody”.
As previously mentioned, in a video in the My Love Life chapter of the My First 24 Years sub-section that follows this one, I describe our first meeting and how God brought Marlene and me together. God, often, works in mysterious ways!
My Paternal Aunts and Uncles
My Dad had seven siblings that reached adulthood. His sister, Alta, died while giving birth to her only child and his brother, Gordon, was killed in World War II. I had 26 paternal first-cousins. As of late January of 2021, 15 are still living. Cousins Garland, Richard Rolen, Bonnie, Genell, Jim, Leon, Dorothy, Carolyn, Ottis, Jerry, and Donna are deceased. Following is the makeup of each of the families. I will apologize in advance for the quality of some of the photos that I have acquired.
Richard and Pearl Strickland Morrow was my father’s oldest brother and wife. They had 12 children including my cousins, Grover, Garland (deceased), Richard R. (deceased), Bonnie Morrow Romanoski (deceased), Ottis (deceased), Roger, Ritta Morrow Belt, Danny, Debbie Morrow Hornback, Theresa Morrow Jones, Donna Morrow Sevic (deceased), and Mike.
Walter and Alma Morrow Cross was my father’s oldest sister and husband. They had three children including my cousins, Genell Cross Thorn (deceased), Leon (deceased), and Dorothy Cross Castille (deceased).
Armer and Willie Lee Morrow Fletcher was my father’s older sister and husband. She had three children including my cousins: Jim (deceased), Carolyn Hughes (deceased), and William. (Aunt Willie’s first husband and father of her children was James Hughes.)
Sanders and Alta Morrow Duncan was my father’s older sister and husband. They had one daughter, my cousin Imogene.
Gordon and Jeffie Morrow was my father’s younger brother and wife. They had no children.
Neal and Louise Morrow Funderburk was my father’s youngest sister and husband. They had three children including my cousins, Sheila Funderburk North, Jerry (deceased), and Rick.
Raymond and Margaret Williams Morrow was my father’s youngest brother and wife. (Margaret is my only aunt still living. She is 89 and going strong.) They had four children including my cousins, Fray, Sharon Morrow Latiolais, Steve, and Angela Morrow Hutcheson.
My Maternal Aunts and Uncles
My mother had an older sister, Delcia, and a younger brother, Ray. I had eight maternal first-cousins. My cousin, Doyle, is deceased. The members of the two families are listed below.
Derris and Delcia Spearman Shackelford was my mother’s older sister and husband. They had two children including my cousins, Doreen Shackelford Littleton and Doyle (deceased).
Ray and Eulene Williams Spearman was my mother’s younger brother and wife. They had six children including my cousins Sue Spearman Abernathy, Dianne Spearman Wright, Kenny, Jimmy, Vickie Spearman Bennett, and Gary.
Miscellaneous Photos
Here are some random family photos.
