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| Laura (Clary) Immekus “Sally” |
The first special lady I’m spotlighting is my paternal grandmother Laura Faye Clary. Laura was born June 18, 1925 in Fredonia, KS. She was the 5th of 6 children born to David Oly Clary and Phoebe (Hobert) Clary. When Laura was 11 yrs old her mother would pass away from cancer at the age of 46. The next year her dad would remarry a lady named Nettie, but he would eventually pass away a few years later when Laura was 15. She would go on to live with her older sister Christina and husband Clarence. While working in the kitchen of Crowder Camp in Neosho, MO she met a skinny guy she use to call pinto. That young man was a guy by the name of Leo Robert Immekus. She and Leo would eventually marry on Aug 4, 1945 in Cherokee Co, Kansas. My grandpa Leo served as a medic during WW II. When he came home they settled in Joplin, MO and started a family, raising 5 children—Anna, Larry, Linda, Bruce, and Marty. You could say she also hand a hand at raising several of the 12 grandchildren she had as well as she babysat several of us at different times while our parents worked.
My grandma was known as Sally, or SalSal to us grandkids, a name my aunt Linda Hostler said was given to her by her best friend. She said grandma’s friend just said she “looked like a Sally” so Sally it was. My oldest cousin TD had trouble saying Sally, so he’s the one who started SalSal and it just stuck. SalSal always had a smile on her face, a big boisterous laugh, and a love for rummage sales. I’ve asked my cousin Jacque Smith to be a guest writer as I felt like she would do a great job of showing people just what a wonderful lady SalSal was and keeping her memory alive for future generations and I was right. The following is what she had to say about our SalSal......
Laura Faye Immekus was my maternal grandmother. Her laughter was larger than life. It could fill a room. A house. I’m sure her laugh could be heard around the world sometimes. As a child, I loved her and enjoyed spending summer weekends at her and grandpa’s little house on the “farm”. They had a mutt dog named Ubu that my sister and I would chase around the house. Grandma made the best burgers on the grill, super peppery, which I learned to love. Thinking back, her kitchen was a really ugly bright orange, but at the time it just felt warm and inviting. She always bought the variety pack of little boxes of cereal and I’m pretty sure she lost some money when my sister was there (a serious “cereal killer”) 😊. After my grandpa passed away, my mom and sister and I would go visit grandma one evening each week. We girls would take homework that we needed to complete while Mom and Grandma would visit, and Mom would help Grandma with anything she might need. By then, at the age of 13, I was much too mature to be outside playing with the dogs.
My Grandma decided to move on into town a short time later and our weekly visits ceased. I began living my own life as a teen and had no need for time with my grandmother. ☹ But then, at 19, I became a mother and suddenly needed a sitter for my son, as I worked full-time at a local law firm. Two amazing, selfless ladies offered to care for him while I worked: my Mom and my Grandma Sally. They loved him and took great care of him.
When I finally quit working, I showed up at Grandma’s during my lunch hour. Days Of Our Lives was on. Grandma wondered why I was there. During the commercial break, I began telling her the story of why I quit my job. When the show came back on, we paused our discussion and watched intently. At the next commercial break, we resumed conversation. That is one of my favorite memories with her.
Over the next several years we would go out to lunch together, I’d drop in with my kids to visit, she’d come by my house to visit, and then she’d call me. During America’s Funniest Videos, she’d call, cackling, and ask if I had the TV on and if I’d just seen the cat fall off the table, or the bride’s hair go up in flames. We wouldn’t hang up throughout the episode, but just laugh into our phones and occasionally question if people had permanent scars or disabilities from the things they incurred.
Grandma loved garage sales. She had a bumper sticker on her little old tan station wagon that stated, “This car stops at all yard sales.” She loved can spray cheese and Ritz crackers and kept a supply on the table behind her recliner. She ALWAYS had at least one box of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls in her kitchen. She had tons of kids’ movies and enjoyed watching them with my kids when we went to visit. She had a short, fat dog named Susie that my kids loved, and then she got a tiny little white dog named Molly. She loved children and babysat more kids after I began my new life as a stay-at-home mom. One little girl would constantly be reprimanded, “Put that dog down, McKenna!!”
Grandma was always joyful, though she wasn’t necessarily always happy. She dealt with pain in life, as we all do. When people hurt her or those she loved, however, she didn’t hold a grudge. She didn’t seek revenge. She knew The Lord and left that in His perfect, capable hands.
One of my uncles used to call me Little Laura Faye. I greatly miss hearing that. But I miss that precious woman so much more. So very much more.
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| Sally & Leo Immekus Anna, Larry, and baby Linda |
My grandpa Leo passed in 1990. SalSal would move back to town and live another 13 yrs, passing in 2003. Both are buried in Hornet Cemetery in Newton County Missouri.
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