Latricia Ann Campbell Jennings, 78, of Bethany, Mo., passed away Monday, January 2, 2017 at Liberty Hospital, Liberty, Mo., surrounded by her loving family.
She was born June 7, 1938 in Bethany, Mo., the daughter of Homer and Georgia (Hogan) Campbell.
On September 12, 1954 she married Larry Jennings.
Latricia Jennings, more commonly known as JO, was our wife, our mom, our grandma and our great grandma.
There are so many places we could start her life at, but our favorite part is when she married our dad, Larry Jennings.
We always loved to hear the story of how she was a sophomore in high school and he was a senior. He was ready to graduate and she did not think she could go another two years without him there. We were guessing he could not go on without her either. So they both told their parents and off to the courthouse they went. Both parents had to sign because neither was of age. Mom was 16 and dad would not turn 18 until September. Hard to believe that both parents even agreed to this!!! They then enlisted the help of Martha Lou Toombs and Ron Hendren to stand up with them.
They were married at O. D Hedges house and she looked beautiful. Dad tells the story of him asking Mr. Hedges how much he owed him and he replied, “Whatever you think she is worth.” Dad had a 20-dollar bill on him and gave Mr. Hedge $10. The other $10 was for the honeymoon. That was the beginning of 62 years together. Good times, bad times, hard times, but always together.
They stayed in Bethany most of their life except for the years we moved to St. Joseph so dad could work in the plumbing business. Mom was a homemaker, but did enjoy the times she worked for Dr. Propst, JC Penney’s and Skips liquor store. We mostly remember her being home, always there for us after school.
We never took normal vacations. But we had the most fun and unique weekends that any child could imagine. Weekends filled with long trips pulling horse trailers, hitting every horse show within 100 miles.
We camped in our pickups or on the ground, waking up in the morning to campfires and cooking food. There were four-five families that did exactly the same thing and they were family to us. Darryl and Shoddie Sperry, Glenn and Carol Johnson, JB and Tootsie Sperry, Ed and Emily Shaw. Those stories are still told today. The best time of their lives. Times we will never forget.
When we moved back to Bethany, Dad built mom a new house. He still worked in St. Joseph, but we lived in an unfinished un-finished house for a couple of years. Mom washed dishes in the bathtub many times but she ne Benny Michael Irvin ver complained. We loved being back in Bethany so we toughed it out. They still live in that same house.
Mom and Dad survived the teen years with us and were always supportive of us whatever we chose to do. We are blessed to have shared our wedding with them. When the grandkids started coming, each one was welcomed as a blessing. They were very young grandparents, which was a blessing to our kids. As our kids got older, Mom and Dad participated in each event that came along; birthdays, graduation and then weddings. The last wedding we had was Terri and Randy’s son, Corey and his wife Jennie, this last September. They asked her to be the flower girl and it was the highlight of her month. She was tickled to death and looked so pretty.
When the great grandkids started coming Mom was more thrilled. She and Dad had a total of seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. She loved each one and was tickled to see them all.
Family dinners were always held at her house. The house grew smaller as her family grew larger. She always laughed and said no one had to sit outside, at least! She knew that family dinners were not complete without macaroni and cheese, ham balls, cherry cheesecake and her rolls; nothing special except to her family. We will try to recreate them but they will never taste the same.
Our Mom and Dad have always been people to look up to. We knew they would always be there. We knew that when you saw one, you saw the other. We knew when Dad moved cows or ground feed or cut wood that Mom would be there. Dad knew that mom would be in the house when he came in. Something that is so hard for all of us now, a lot of changes for us all.
Mom was the most unselfish woman we knew. She always thought of us first and we knew all we had to do was ask if we needed anything. We never heard her complain and if she did it was directed toward Dad. Dad would always say “Now Jo!” We would all laugh and decide he deserved everything that he got.
She was taken from us before we were ready and I don’t think we would ever have been ready. But God needed her more than we did. We know she had Jesus in her heart and that comforts us in our time of sorrow. Rest in peace, Mom and Grandma. We will take care of Dad for you.
Survivors include her husband of 62 years, Larry, of the home; daughters, Terri and husband, Randy Gentry, Vicki and husband, Garry West; son, Todd and wife, Alycia Jennings; seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
Funeral services were Friday, January 6, at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, Mo.; burial in Miriam Cemetery, Bethany, Mo. Memorial contributions may be made to the Immanuel Baptist Church of Bethany and/or the donor’s choice in care of Roberson Funeral Home, PO Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424.
Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com