Doris Louise Kentner McCall - March 10, 1918 - December 20, 2015
Our Mother was the daughter of Jacob Waters and Alda Shepler Kentner, born in Barton County on the family farm 5 ½ miles west of Golden City. Many times she told of recalling the day she was born, how a brother rode horseback to fetch the Doctor, the dogs barking as the Doctor arrived by horse and buggy to deliver her. Then laughing, she would say she heard that story till she believed she actually remembered!
Growing up, life on the farm wasn’t easy. Always work to be done, and with four ornery older brothers, Mom was teased, harassed and terrorized (for example by brothers chasing her with snakes or being dunked in the swimming hole.)
One-room Mt Carmel School was where Mom attended the first eight grades, walking or riding a horse the two miles to school. In those days there was no school bus transport to high school, so Mom “boarded” in Golden City with Uncle Jack and Aunt Blanche Breeden, going to town on Sunday evening and back home to the farm on Friday. Breeden’s owned a general store on Main Street where Mom helped out. That was a good thing, as many farm kids couldn’t achieve a high school education due lack of transportation.
After graduating, Mom attended two years at Teachers College in Springfield, (now Southwest Missouri State University,) where she boarded with school friends from Golden City. After receiving a Teaching Certificate, she took a teaching position in Kenoma, MO.
Dad and Mom sort of “eloped” on a weekend trip to Kansas City, with his sister Opal and her husband Clarence, marrying October 23, 1938 in Olathe, Kansas. The ceremony was performed by a Justice of the Peace whose son was Buddy Rogers, a famous actor, so Mom said there was a bit of celebrity related to their very simple wedding. In fact, Dad borrowed the money - $2 - from Uncle Clarence for the wedding license!
The newly-weds were going to keep the marriage a secret until Christmas, but Mom’s brother Max had a friend in Kansas City who saw the marriage license notice, sent Uncle Max the newspaper clipping and he couldn’t wait to share the news with the family!
Our Dad was a farmer, having bought an 80 acre farm five miles west of Golden City, where they would make their home.
After teaching school for a couple of years, Mom felt the need to work and help Dad make a success of the farm, so she became a farmer, working beside him.
During World War II, Dad was a little too old for the draft, but helped the war effort by moving to Independence, MO, to work at Lake City Ordinance Plant, helping the war effort by manufacturing ammunition.
After the war was over, Leonard and Doris moved back to the farm. They had started a family: Marilyn Sue, followed four years later by Judith Ann, joined by Kenneth Ray about 15 months later, and Cathy Louise about 15 months after that. So that was the McCall family.
Many years passed; good things and not-so-good things happened, as with most families. Drought of ’54 was a bad thing when the crops withered and were a total loss. Bad was Mom having surgery in ’57 and losing a kidney during surgery, good was that she survived and recuperated. Good was Dad’s mom, Grandma Cora, having a country store about a block west of our home, where lots of love (and sweet treats) waited for us. Bad was Dad passing away in in July, 1974. Good was Mom being strong and continuing with the plans to build a home in Golden City and moving there in ’75.
A good thing for many years was Mom being a great grandmother long before she was an actual official “great-grandmother.” She had grandkid visitors at every opportunity – my kids spent time in the summer and whenever possible, and so did all her other grandchildren.
Mom loved her yard and flowers, took great pride in her home, sewed countless little garments for grandkids, not to forget the spectacular Christmas stockings she made for each grandchild every year as long as she was able. And the quilts! She had a real passion for quilting and made many, hand quilting on frames and continued that hobby as long as eyes and hands cooperated.
She spent many happy hours working on genealogy, took trips to Pennsylvania where she was able to see the home where her mother had grown up. She went through many a cemetery locating long gone ancestors. It was a good experience visiting the Methodist Church her great-grandfather, Samuel Wakefield, had established in West Newton, PA, and also finding Jacob’s Creek Church he started. Samuel was a self-taught scholar, author, composer, theologian and circuit-riding preacher, who she was very honored to have for her grandfather.
Mom was a practical, hard-working, very intelligent and all around good lady. Her family motto growing up was “use it up, wear it out, make do or do without” which carried over in her adult life, too. I am proud to share her genes, as are my siblings. After all, it is a fact – proven years ago by a statement from a physician after a cardiology exam where it was concluded she had a strong heart with minimal problems for her age - she was, he said, from “Sturdy Pioneer Stock.”
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