Joe DeMary injured in boating accident

Joe Jo-Jo DeMary posted this 8-25-14 update:

“Update on Little Joe took him to the eye doctor yesterday doctor said his right eye is some better but left eye not so much and he still has a 50 50 chance of losing sight in his left eye !! We have eye doctor appointments every day to every other day from now until he heals !! He is not allowed to do anything but lay around the house for at least the next two weeks including not working either !! Thanks for all the messages and prayers !! Jo-Jo”

As of 9-4-14, Jo-Jo reports, “Little Joe” “is finally getting there. He still is not allowed to do anything but lay around and still has to sleep sitting up.”

But “the family is falling apart. First Little Joe with his eyes that by the way are doing a lot better, then my sister Joanne in the hospital and today my brother in law Earl is in the hospital.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

“Little Joe” DeMary, son of Joe Jo-Jo DeMary, formerly of Monongah, and grandson of the late Joe DeMary, a 1940s Monongah High graduate, was injured when the rope pulling his tube broke and hit him in the eyes.

Jo-Jo, who lives in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee with wife Yvonne, wrote:

“Not sure if everyone has heard this already but today (Saturday, Aug. 23) my family was out on the boat swimming and being pulled on a tube behind the boat. When Little Joe was being pulled the rope broke and snapped back and hit him across both eyes. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital. His eyes are filling up with blood on the inside of his eyeballs!! The right eye he can see out of a little but his left eye he can't see at all!! Doctor said there is a 50- 50 chance of him losing his sight in left eye!! Please pray for Little Joe!! Thanks. Jo-Jo”

Later, Jo-Jo wrote:

“Can't sleep at all tonight!! I have to wake Little Joe up every 4 hours take his eye patches off, put two different kinds of eyedrops in his eyes and put the patches back over his eyes!!”

And:

"A big thank-you to Hamilton County Med 4 for taking such good care of Little Joe today!! Blake Smith and AJ Parker, thanks so much. You all rock!!”

Jo-Jo is a City of Red Bank, Tennessee engineer and a graduate of Red Bank High School near Chattanooga.

Jo-Jo’s siblings are Kim DeMary Clowers, Class of 1979, living in Red Bank with husband Earl Lee Clowers; Julie DeMary; and Joanne DeMary. Their parents are the late Joe DeMary and Laurelle Costello Hustead, who returned home in April after five weeks in a health-care facility.

Debbie Weaver Hurley, Class of 1979, & Kim have been best friends since they were 4 years old.

Kim is famous for her bunny rabbit cookie jars collection. She is a Registered Nurse after her graduation from Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee.

Jo-Jo and Yvonne celebrated their 21^st wedding anniversary April 18.

Monongah High history is littered with DeMarys.

Frank DeMary, Jr. is Class of 1947.

Virginia DeMary is Class of 1941.

Ann DeMary Eates, married to Joe Eates, is Class of 1945, like her husband.

If you have memories of the DeMary family, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com and I’ll add them to this Monongah High Alumni blog.