My grandparents, Samuel Everett McClure and Lola May Campbell, were born and raised in Missouri.  My grandmother in Marshfield, my grandfather on a family farm in a small settlement that sprang up around his family's farm at Mountain Dale, near the headwaters of the James River. To find out more about my grandfather's family, the McClure family, go to the McClure Family page.  This page is not complete, but has only begun.  To find out more about my grandmother's family, the Campbell Family, you can go to the Campbell Family page, which I am now working on, but it is up. This page has a lot of wonderful reminiscences of their family life in Seymour, Missouri in the early years of the twentieth century.  The photo at right is of my grandparents, Sam and Lola McClure.

After they came to California in 1945 and settled in Fontana, Sam and Lola settled down and remained there until their death, many years later.  They were very special people with only goodness in their hearts, and brought joy to all those they touched.  Sam had a very distinct twinkle to his eye long after most people lose that, and the love they shared was still very evident to be seen when they were in their eighties and nineties.

For more information about how I felt about my grandmother, who was very special to me, go to this page: About Marcie, or this Rogers Family. 

They raised four children of their own, and helped with eight grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren borne by their three children who lived.  Before they died, three great-great-grandchildren were added.  Lola became "Mamoo" and Sam became "Bampoo" and their laps were always available to make someone feel special and loved.  The little ones flocked to them for the loving attention they always received.  Christmas at their home was where all the family gathered round, everyone singing carols at the piano while Lola played, and all the family getting caught up on what everyone had been doing while helping with a great dinner for 20-30 people that the tiny woman orchestrated with ease.  

Each of my grandparents always thought fondly of home as Missouri, and come Memorial Day and the fall, they would travel back there when they could, to renew ties with family that remained in the area, and those who also came to visit at those times of year.  Memorial Day was very special to my grandmother.  That was the time of year she looked forward to going  to the Mountain Dale cemetery with family, and reminisced about those who had died while they tidied up the plots, and it seemed to give her a wonderful sense of peace and continuity in her world to do this each year.  This was her memorial to lost family members, and I believe this custom is an old one that was passed down through the generations.  My grandparents were the "glue" that held our entire family together, and with their passing, an important "sense of family" left us.  Each of us was blessed to have had them in our lives, and still feel their loss very deeply.  Sam died in 1988 at 94 years of age, and Lola died in 1992, just after reaching her 97th birthday. 

My sister  Suzi has five children.  Carrie, Dennis, Ron, Tina, and Scott.  Carrie's daughter, Shelli already has her own family, making five generations alive in our family again. Shelly is married to David and they have a daughter. The photo below has most of Suzi's growing family gathered at Christmas time. From the left: Carrie, Suzi's oldest daughter, with husband Randy behind her. Next to Randy is daughter Shelli, with her husband David behind her. Next is Jessica, Suzi's son Ron's stepdaughter, with Ron's daughter Jaime in front, and Ron behind and to the right.  In front of Ron is Suzi, with Olivia (Tina's daughter), in front of her.  Next in back is Daniel, Carrie's son.  In front of him is Tom, Suzi's husband. In back again is Brandon, Tina and Mark's son, then Mark (Tina's husband), and Tina, who is Suzi's youngest daughter, in front. Next to this photo is a photo of Scott, Suzi's youngest son.  Missing from the photo is her oldest son Dennis.

This is a favorite photo of mine.  It is of my sister Suzi, my mother and I.  It was taken in 1962 or 1963, when I was 24 or 25 years old,  Suzi was 22-23, and my mother was 45 years old.  I had two small children at this time, and my sister had one or two.    We were both stay-at-home moms, and she was still living in the same area as the rest of the family.

My mother lived to be 86 years old, and except for my brother Everett providing her with some help and company, lived on her own.  I miss mother a great deal. 

This photo is of mother sitting in her favorite chair, and this was a familiar position for her and Polly, her dog.  Polly secretly wished she was a "lap" dog, but she was much too large for mother's lap. Polly was an Australian Shepherd mix. This is how she solved the problem, and sat on mother's lap.  She was a good companion for mother, and was very protective of her.  When mother sold her home on the desert and moved into town to be near the family, Polly had been used to running around her two and a half acres, barking at whatever she wanted to.

Living right in town, and in a mobile home park, created a problem.  Polly barked...  And there were a lot of people in the park who walked their dogs every day. Mostly small dogs, and Polly felt she had to warn mother about them.  It created a big problem, because mother could not bear to part with Polly. However, with time they finally made peace with the other dogs in the park, and mother and Polly were at home there.  Luckily it came before they got kicked out of the park!  Polly died not too long after my mother died, life just wasn't the same for her without mother.  She is missed, too.

My Aunt Sami is just six years older than I am, so we were pretty close when we were small.... she was my idol. Sami and her husband Bill have two children, Jack and Jill.  Jill has a son, and so does Jack.  Sami and I have become closer again in the last few years due to the computer.  We have not lived near one another for quite some time, so we still had a lot of catching up to do.

Meanwhile, here is a photo showing four generations.  My grandmother, Sami, her daughter Jill, and Jill's son Coulter.  I believe this photo is approximately 15 years old, but don't hold me to that!

Update: here is my most recent photo of Sami, taken in 2003, while visiting my mother.  She and husband Bill are now in their mid-70's, but are still a vibrant, loving couple, despite some health problems, and Sami, in particular, is still very active, caring for others in the family with problems, and at the present time preparing their home to sell as they plan a move.  I saw quite a lot of her last year and we were able to renew old ties - that was nice.

We all suffered a big loss last year [2004] when my mother, Dora Francis [McClure] Boles, died on March 10th.

Luckily, Jim and I were able to get moved to Oregon in December, 2003, so we hurriedly dropped everything at our home here and spent most of the first three months of 2004 helping Sami and my brother Everett caring for my mother, but to no avail.  She was 86 years old when she died, and she was ready to go.

The photo at left is of mother taken at her graduation from high school in abt. 1934.

We are all still trying to recover from her loss, and Everett and John have now moved in together in Mother's house, which is working out nicely.  John had some health problems.  He first had to have knee replacement surgery, and then developed a malignant tumor in his left lung, but was able to have surgery for that, after which Sami cared for him at her home until he could go to Mother's with Everett.

Jill, Sami's daughter, and her husband Tom are going through a difficult time now as Tom has colon cancer, so we are all praying for them.  Update: Jill's husband Tom died of cancer September 20, 2006.