Person:Florence Barnaby (1)

Obituary and Life Sketch of Opal B. Clark Hello, my name is Kevin Clark and it is my privilege to share with you the obituary and a life sketch of my Grandmother Opal Clark. Florence Opal Barnaby Spencer Clark passed away on Friday, October 18th 2002 at the Howard Twilight Manor nursing home in Howard, Kansas. She was 101 years of age and a long time resident of Howard. Opal, as she was known, was born on July 19, 1901 on a farm west of Howard to John Edward and Arminta (Maloney) Barnaby. She had four brothers and two sisters. Earl, Paul, Lester, Hazel, then Opal, Myrtle and Ray. Her sister Hazel's daughter Catharine told me that one time she and her sisters drove a horse and buggy into town to see an Al Jolson movie. The late night trip home required them to pass over the railroad tracks and in those days there were often hobos near the tracks. To ward off potential danger, one sister stuck her leg out of the buggy the way men did at the time, another spit out one side of the buggy as the sister driving gave the horse an energetic slap of the reigns to hurry over the tracks. The girls thought they were so brave pretending to be men. She attended rural Elk County schools and graduated from Howard High School. Opal completed Normal Teacher Training and taught at Crackerbox rural school south of Howard during the late 1920's and early 1930's. She walked from town all the way out to her school several miles each day. She married Glenn M. Spencer and they made their home in Howard, Kansas. Once when they were courting they went to gather walnuts. Glenn told her there were some big ones on the other side of the road; imagine her surprise when the "big" walnuts turned out to be horse droppings. Glenn and Opal had one son, Robert Eugene Spencer. Catharine remembers playing in the dirt with Robert and neighbor EJ Barber and fighting over who got to play with which toy truck. She also remembers reading Robert's "Big Little Books" for hours. Unfortunately Robert passed away on September 21, 1940 from Bright's disease at the age of ten. Grandma Opal always had a soft spot in her heart for my Uncle Guy Morgan Denton. He would bring his horse up to Robert's window so he could pet him, when he was too sick to go out and play. Guy also gave him an angora rabbit and fixed up a cage outside his window so he could watch the rabbit when he could not sleep at night. Glenn and Opal owned and operated Spencer Abstract Company. Every year they would sponsor an advertisement in, and purchase a copy of the Howard High School Annual so they could get to know the young people who passed by the abstract office on their way to and from school. They enjoyed card games and had a Pinochle Club where they would get together with Lester and Cynthia Matthews and Arch and Mary Clark and other couples to play. Opal and Glenn often had boarders in their home. Opal's brother Ray was a long time boarder. Opal formed a very special friendship with one of her boarders, a young woman named Dorothy Dorset Jones. She loved her like a daughter. Opal and Glenn lived in Phoenix, Arizona for a brief time, hoping that the desert air would be helpful to Glenn who was suffering from lung problems. Glenn preceded Opal in death on February 24, 1957. On May 24, 1958, she was united in marriage with widow, Archie Burton Clark (my Granddad Arch) at Garnett, Kansas by Rev. Phonce Mitchell. Opal was a devoted wife and dedicated her life to making a home for her family in the Howard community. Arch worked as an Agent for Kansas Gas and Electric and Opal was employed for several years as the Howard office manager for KG&E. She nursed Arch back to health after his heart attack and tried her best to keep him on a healthy diet. Arch passed away on October 26, 1987. Opal was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary of Carter-Rader Post #149 for 79 years, and was a long time member of the Howard United Methodist Church. Until Arch's last illness, she never missed a Howard High School Alumni Banquet. She is survived by a step-son, Charles Clark, M.D. of Del Mar, California; seven step-grandchildren Marye Dorsa of Oceanside, California, Chris Clark of Los Gatos, California, Martha Clark of Escondido, California, Melissa Arribere of Encinitas, California, Alan Clark of Salem, Oregon, Kevin Clark of Cedar Park, Texas and Jennifer Semler of Cedar Park, Texas, and eight step-great-grand children. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Margaret Barnaby of Great Bend, Kansas; her nieces, Catharine Riggs of Olathe, Kansas, Leota Cass of Severy, Kansas and Judith Barnaby of Great Bend, Kansas and her nephews, Dennis Barnaby and Richard Barnaby both of Great Bend, Kansas. One of my earliest memories of being at Grandma's house was of the GE floor fans that she had in her living room and her constant concern that I would stick my finger through the blade guard and cut my finger off. She knew first hand about losing a finger because as a young girl she lost the end of her left middle finger in an accident with a corn planter. She also had little finger that was permanently bent and so she had a habit of curving her fingers so that these imperfections would not be noticed. Grandma was an immaculate housekeeper. Her house was kept in tip top shape, always ready for company. I remember Granddad Arch and I would immediately head to the basement whenever we returned from fishing or working in the yard to clean up before we came upstairs. My sister Marye credits Grandma Opal with teaching her to clean as she cooks (a skill I never learned) so that at the end of a meal the only dishes left to do were the table service and serving dishes. Speaking of dinner at Grandma's. She was a fabulous cook, and would never let her guests' plates possibly get empty, because she was forever encouraging us to take more. I especially remember fried chicken dinners, served on the dot when the noon whistle blew, with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. She also made a wonderful chocolate cake with a fudgey frosting that was a favorite of mine. Grandma Opal was truly a lady. Soft spoken and well mannered, I never ever remember her being cross or raising her voice in her home. Grandma was well read and enjoyed word games and puzzles. She would work the daily jumble and crossword puzzles from the newspaper. I was always impressed with how she was able to solve them. Grandma never learned to drive a car, but seemed to truly enjoy road trips. She would read almost every sign that came into view and teased me with the following riddle, "Railroad Crossing, Look Out For The Cars: Can you spell that without any R's? T H A T" A trip with Grandma Opal and Granddad Arch I will never forget, was an Extension Bus Trip to Kansas City. We took in the Proctor and Gamble Factory, the Nelson Art Gallery, a big shopping Mall and finally an outdoor Starlight Musical presentation of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". A bit of trivia that I still remember from that trip. Did you know that Proctor &Gamble had to sell off the Clorox Bleach brand because of concerns that they had a monopoly on clothes cleaning products? One of Grandma's favorite sayings was "Well My Land" she used this exclamation for good news, bad news, or surprising information. A year ago at Easter my family and I were visiting with Grandma at the Nursing Home and although she did not quite remember us, when we told her that year we would be celebrating her 100th birthday, she said, "Well My Land, that's OLD" Thank you for letting me share a bit of the life of this wonderful lady.