ClaraBel Smoot Jones, 1916-2007

Rosie's mother passed away in the early hours of March 2, 2007. Born in Henry County, Kentucky, she grew up near Lockport, on the Kentucky River, eventually moving to Indiana and graduating from Hanover High School. She turned down a scholarship to Hanover College to marry Howard Lawrence Jones, who was a meatcutter and manager for the Kroger Company most of his life, while Clara was a homemaker. They were married for over seventy years. Howard survives her; so does their only child, Rosalie Jones Evans. Also surviving her are her sister, Rosella, and her brother, Edwin. Clara was an accomplished seamstress, making, for example, her daughter's wedding dress; and she was a quite good cook. (She made a great pot of Great Northerns and ham! And her angel cakes were excellent, even for one who prefers devil's food cakes.) Clara's mother was a one-room schoolhouse teacher, her father a farmer. Clara was a character, stubborn and opinionated, a storyteller, devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She spoiled hell out of her three grandchildren, David, Brian, and Suzy, and they are better people for it. She raised a truly exemplary daughter somehow, who became a nurse and has been involved in ministering to literally thousands of people in Jefferson County, Indiana. She could make her daughter mad as hell, especially in her last years, but all in all she was a damned good old girl. ClaraBel, R.I.P. I'm sure you're up there now giving St. Pete his marching orders!