Sunday's Obituary: Norma Sharp

Norma Ann Sharp

August 23, 1937 - May 7, 2012

Mrs. Norma Ann Sharp, 74, of Philadelphia, MS died Monday, May 7, 2012 at Neshoba County Nursing Home in Philadelphia, MS.

She was a native of Brookings, SD and had been a resident of Philadelphia, MS since 1973. She formerly worked at Nemanco, Inc. and Wells-Lamont Corp. in Philadelphia, MS. Mrs. Sharp was Methodist by faith. She was a classic example of an army wife. She raised their family while her husband served in the military for 24 years, including tours in both Korea and Vietnam, until his retirement.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James (Jim) Sharp; parents, Pete and Hazel Carter; and brother, Larry (Bubby) Carter.

Survivors include daughters, Lori Sharp Vowell (Brian) of Columbus, MS and Angela Sharp Kelly (Jerry) of Philadelphia, MS; sons, Danny Sharp (Sharon) of Atlanta, GA, Joe Sharp (Donna) of Philadelphia, MS and Randy Sharp of Philadelphia, MS; grandchildren, Brent Vowell, Katie Vowell, Gunner Vowell, Mariah Kelly, Randi Kelly, Shondae Walker, Megan Day, Chris Sharp, Chad Sharp, Mandy Sharp, Colby Sharp, and Jaden Sharp; great-grandchild, Destiny Sharp; sisters, Dee Hust of Las Vegas, NV, Jeannette Crapser of Brookings, SD and Kay Cox of Brown City, MI; and numerous nieces, nephews and their families.

Obituary from McClain-Hays Funeral Home

Air Force names building after fallen Osprey pilot - Randy Voas

Randell Voas, a cousin in the Glenn/Dempster family line has been honored by the Air Force for his service.  Here's the beginning of the story from the U.S. Army  news:

FORT RUCKER, Ala. (Mar. 1, 2012) -- Maj. Randell D. Voas lost his life in a CV-22 crash in Afghanistan on April 9, 2010, but his legacy will now continue to influence future Aviators in the Air Force's 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker.

On Feb. 24, the squadron named its new consolidated operations center after Voas who was in the Army for eight years before transitioning to the Air Force where he flew missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and served as an instructor pilot for the 23rd FTS at Fort Rucker.

"I'm challenged to find a better name to put on this building," said Col. James Cardoso, commander of the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland AFB, N.M., during his dedication ceremony address.

All Air Force helicopter pilots start their rotary-wing training with the 23rd FTS at Fort Rucker. "As we teach them the skills, it's appropriate that we also show them what they're going to be a part of," he said, adding that many of the instructors and evaluators currently with the 23rd FTS were trained or mentored by Voas.

He went on to say Voas was a "decorated combat Aviator, a quiet professional and a humble guy" who loved to instruct and pass on the lessons he'd learned during his time on the battlefield.

During the ceremony, much applause was given for each person on a list of honored guests, but the loudest applause was given to the members of the Voas Family. The late major's wife, Jill, and their two children, Maddeline and Mitchell, were there along with several other Family members.

Jo Kallemeyn, the mother of Voas, said the ceremony was "quite an honor for Randy's memory."

"The main thing I want and that our Family wants is that he's not forgotten," she said.

Kallemeyn said her son loved to fly. He was given the Cheney Award in 2003, an annual award given by the Air Force for an act of valor or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest, but she said his response was to say he was just doing his job. "But, he did it very well," she added.

"I have learned so much about Randy since this happened. He was my son, and we had good conversations, but I just never really understood the depth of his involvement and what he meant to so many people," she said.  
Read More 

Wisdom Wednesday: Grandma Glenn's Recipe for Rearing a Large Family

Way back in May of 1949, a reporter from the Brookings paper asked Grandma Maria (Dempster) Glenn about her recipe for raising a large family of 104 direct descendants.  She responded with the following:

"Just keep on reading the Scriptures every day. You won't go far wrong, if you practice what the Bible teaches. And keep out of other people's business. Don't gossip about others. If you work hard you won't have time to do that. And then you won't worry and you can live a long time."

To read the newspaper article, check out my post from July 2010 titled "Grandma Glenn Boosts of 104 Grandchildren".

Happy 60th Anniversary Don and Jeannette Crapser!

Sixty years ago today, Grandpa Donald Crapser and Grandma Jeannette Carter were married in the little town of Lake Benton, Minnesota.

Now because these two fell in love,

Along came three children -

Two boys and a girl.

All too soon the children fell in love.

Blessing them with eleven

Little ones to spoil.

The oldest grandbabies fell in love.

Bundles of joy now total eight

To hug and kiss.

Happy 60th Anniversary, Grandpa Don and Grandma Jeannette!

Saturday Stumble-Upon: It's a Small World After All

Since I started this blog back in July, I have heard from some cousins again and have also been in communication with a few new cousins.

Shari (Searls) Adair, a cousin in the Glenn family line who I've been in contact with for several years now, was surprised to learn that she knew two other sides of my family!  She was in school and 4H with my grandma Sharon (Jorenby) Luze. When the families lived in the Lake Campbell area, the Searls farm and the Jorenby farm were adjacent to each other. Shari's family had also lived near Lowell Workman in Eureka township.

Now with the realization that the cousins from the east (Glenns from Aurora) knew the cousins from the southwest (Jorenbys from the Lake Campbell area) and the cousins from the north (Workmans in Eureka township), I began to wonder how far apart these families really were.  So I pulled up Google Maps and started mapping the childhood homes of my great-grandparents.  Here's the result:

View It's A Small World - family beginnings in a larger map

Not bad!  Brookings is almost the center point of all of their childhood homes.  I'm willing to bet that at some point or another, the families all crossed paths in Brookings.  Moral of the story: It's a small world after all!

Grandma Glenn boosts 104 Grandchildren

Cousin Neta contacted me this week.  Of course this lead me into the Dempster family files, where I re-discovered this neat little article.  On May 29, 1949 The Brookings Register reported that Grandma Glenn had 104 Grand and Great Grand Children! 

I don't know about you, but I can't imagine keeping track of that many cousins!

The full article written by Ed Stanley reads:

"If the people of the little town of Aurora were asked to name the All-Ameican mother of the United States, they would vote unanimously for Mrs. Frank T. Glenn.

For she can boost of what folks around here believe is some sort of record. She has reared 10 children of her own and now can name 60 great grandchildren and 40 more grand children.

And at the age of 82 she can rattle off the names of them all-given a little time. This makes a total of 104 direct descendants and all are living.

Despite her four-score and more years this little old lady still is fairly agile. Her clear blue eyes are sharp and they carry an Irish twinkle when she talks. She was born in Ireland -- up in Ulster -- March 1, 1867, and came to this country August 3, 1883.

On January 11, 1886, (she remembers all of these dates just like they were yesterday) she married Frank Glenn. They lived around Aurora from that time until his death in 1930.

Asked her recipe for rearing such a family with all of the great and grand children, her reply was strickly of an Irish nature.

"Just keep on reading the Scriptures every day," she snapped back quickly. "You won't go far wrong, if you practice what the Bible teaches. And keep out of other people's business. Don't gossip about others. If you work hard you won't have time to do that. And then you won't worry and you can live a long time. Simple, isn't it?"

Her children are Mrs. Georgia Johnson and William of Aurora; Mrs. May Morris, Lake Hendricks; Mrs. Violet Bain, Bushnell; Mrs. Daisy Bain, Wadena, Minn; Mrs. Gladys Blanch, Indianola, Iowa; Mrs. Amy Laabs, Volga; Walter of Aurora, and Mrs. Myra Eer Nisse, Rapid City, S. Dak.

A son, Frank, who was a corporal in the air corps during World War I, died after the war. But Mrs. Glenn calls his wife, Lois Bacon (she remarried and her second husband died) her own child. Lois is in the service and never forgets Mother Glenn on Mother's day.

Mrs. Glenn now lives in a modest home in Aurora where she likes to knit and visit her many "children" who delight to drop in on her for a happy hour or two in conversation about "these good days.""

The article inadvertantly left out one daughter, Margaret. I assume this was the reporter's error, not an lapse in Grandma Glenn's memory.