Leatrice Yokay Greaser, Class of 1950,
and I exchanged “Merry Christmas” in a phone call today.
Leatrice, who grew up in Carolina,
lives in Fairmont. I visit her almost every time I come to Marion County to
visit my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1955, who lives in Rivesville,
or friends and former classmates in Monongah and Fairmont, or the annual
Monongah High Alumni Banquet.
Leatrice has been in the hospital
several times in recent months and is confined to her home. Physical therapists
and nurses visit her. She’s house-bound except for her trips to the hospital.
“Nobody” in her family still is alive,
Leatrice tells me. Her brother, John Yokay, Jr., passed away in January 2022.
Their sister, Patty Yokay Maddox, Class of 1948, passed away in 2020.
“Carolina and Monongah High are my best
memories,” Leatrice said. I second that emotion. In my case that would be
Monongah High and Monongah, where I was born in my grandparents’ house on
Walnut Street in 1932 amid the Great Depression, then moved to a Thomas Street rental,
then to nearest home to that on Church Street that my parents purchased. It’s
the one next to the pearl in a seashell Christmas street light that I
purchased.
Leatrice’s 90th birthday was
November 23. Like me, she was born in 1932, 18 days after I was born.
Leatrice and Patty Urban Utz, also
Class of 1950, phone each other regularly. Patty is taking care of her ailing
husband, John Utz, a West Point
graduate who retired as a Lt. Colonel. John flew helicopters in combat for two
tours in Vietnam before he met Patty after his 1950 high school graduation.
Leatrice took care of
her husband, Bob Greaser, till he passed away. And Bob’s mother, too.
I still call Leatrice “The
Kathryn Grayson of Monongah High” because Lea’s singing voice at MHS reminded
me of the singing actress in movies. Leatrice had her own show on Fairmont
radio WMMS where she sang with Mary Jo Forte as her pianist.
If you want to wish
Leatrice a Merry Christmas, too, here phone number is (304) 363-4858.
No comments:
Post a Comment