I am taking the occasion of this church blog to send a up a tribute to my mother, Irene Smitheran. I gave this tribute at her funeral on Wednesday, December 28, 2011 in Bolivar, MO. There are too many memories of my mom to include here, but of all the things I remember most, I remember that she made a killer meat loaf. I’ve tried to duplicate it but have not been able to as yet. She told me it was because she put diced ham in it along with ground pork, beef and bacon, but she must have put some other spices in it because I haven’t been successful in copying it yet. She also made fried chicken in such a way it was better cold the next day than it was hot, and it was very good hot. I know she used a cast iron skillet and not too much oil in frying it, but no matter how she did it, it was always good and better cold. We also had roast nearly every Sunday; she would sear it in the old electric skillet we had and then drown it before we’d go to church. It was always done when we got home but to this day I won’t have roast on Sunday unless I just have to. Her roast was good, but not every Sunday; how about spaghetti or chili or hamburgers, mom?

My mother endured the Great Depression in her childhood. She told me the story of seeing the local banker approach the front door of the home her and my grandpa and grandma lived in to tell them they were repossessing the farm. She did not tell me that story until she was in her 70’s, and even after all those years she cried as she told it. The events of the Depression formed her life’s choices from that point forward. She would save every little bit of food after we ate, no matter how small, even though we always had plenty.  She saved every little margarine container in order to save those little bits of food; we found dozens of those containers in the cupboard. She saved the wax paper that lined cereal boxes, using that paper over and over again for a variety of uses. Bread bags, used aluminum foil, item after item would be saved. After she told me the story of the banker I realized what all that saving had meant to her; it was her way of surviving those awful times. Those in my generation and younger cannot begin to imagine the sacrifices and hardships that my mom’s generation went through. And after the Depression, they faced WWII and the sacrifices that meant. My mother’s generation truly was The Greatest Generation, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for all she did to give my sister and me and good life. She did a great job and I salute her.

My mom and dad raised two kids, both of which entered the ministry. My sister, Barbara Lingo of Brighton, MO, has been a missionary, a teacher of missions at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO, and a pastor’s wife. Her and her husband David currently minister at the Berean Baptist Church of Bolivar. I have been in the ministry since 1981, so mom has left a legacy in the ministry that has far exceeded her humble beginnings. I know she never set out to raise kids for the ministry, for there was nothing in our background that would indicate that would be the direction we would take. But she made every attempt to teach us correctly and keep us on the straight and narrow, and the results were nothing to be ashamed of.

Mom, I salute you: you did a good job. And say hello to Dad for me. I sure do miss both of you.

Emily Irene Smitheran, 84, passed away December 25, 2011 in Brighton, MO. She was born July 17, 1927 in La Cygne, KS, the daughter of Edwin and Eva Leona Bartlett Riley. After graduating from Osawatomie High School in 1945, Irene began her career as a secretary which she practiced until her retirement. She married E. J. (Red) Chandler and they were parents of 2 children. E.J. passed away in 1969 and she later Raymond Smitheran who also preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her parents, and sister, Esta Brown of Osawatomie, Kansas.

Irene was a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary in Mound City, Kansas.
Irene moved to the Brighton area from Arkansas City, Kansas, in 1996. She was an active member of the Berean Baptist Church, Bolivar, MO.
Irene is survived by a son, Greg A. Chandler and wife Ruth, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; daughter Barbara Lingo and husband David of Brighton; a sister, Margaret Wilson of Mound City, Kansas; 5 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 28, 2011 in Bolivar, MO. Interment is at Green Valley Cemetery, Osawatomie, Kansas.