Mr. and Mrs. Lee JENNINGS moved to Maloy in 1919. They were the parents of nine children: Della (CULVER), Eva (WOOD), Grace (BENTLEY) and Leota (KRAGE), Ernest, Earl, N. H. (Nate), Lucille (CULVER) and Carl. They lived in the community until their demise. Both are buried in the family plot at Rose Hill cemtery in Mount Ayr. Of these nine children only four are now living: Della in Mount Ayr, Grace in Blockton, N. H. JENNINGS in Waterloo and Leota KRAGE in Garden Grove, California.

Grace BENTLEY and her husband lived at the telephone office, and she served as the operator for a few years. Their home was in Blockton and they returned there to live. Mr. BENTLEY has passed away [1978].

N. H., a great athlete, lived with Della and Evan and went to high school in Maloy and then to Graceland College [in Lamoni] where he played in their sports programs. He has lived in Waterloo most of his adult life. He married Dorothy and they have three sons and a daughter, Todd, Gregg, Brad and Jodi. N. H. worked at the Rath Packing Company in that city in many capacities serving in management toward the end of his working career. He is now retired.

Luella JENNINGS married Noel CULVER. They lived in this community too. Their children were Maxine, Margaret and Raymond. Maxine lives in Osceola, Margaret at Glenwood and Raymond passed away about four years ago from a sudden heart attack.

NOTE: Robert "Lee" JENNINGS was born September 23, 1870 near Leon, Iowa, and died September 18, 1954. He married in 1895 Etta May (HAMMERS) JENNINGS who was born August 27, 1875 near Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and died April 3, 1958 at Mount Ayr. She was the daughter of Nathan and Betsy (HOCKEY) HAMMERS. Earl W. JENNINGS was born in 1903, and died in 1966. They were interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr.
~ Abstracted Newspaper Obituaries of Page and Taylor Counties

Grace JENNINGS married George BENTLEY on December 28, 1927. George Milford BENTLEY, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Mary E. BENTLEY, died January 29, 1978 at Omaha, Nebraska. Grace and George Milford were the parents of six children: twins Dean and Gene born May 27, 1936, Mary (BENTLEY) SHEEKS, Duane BENTLEY, Terry BENTLEY and Kenneth BENTLEY.

Five children were born to them and they purchased the 140 acre farm of the James HOGAN estate in 1939. In 1952 they built a new home there. Della's father, Lee JENNINGS, and Evan's father, John CULVER, came to make their home with the family until their deaths as did her bachelor brother Earl.

The JENNINGS-CULVER families came to Evan and Della's for many family get-togethers and dinners. There was always an abundance of food. Della raised a big garden and did lots of canning.

After brother Earl's death, Della sold the farm to Bob LYNCH and moved to Mount Ayr where she continues to live, first in a new trailer home then in the Heritage Park apartments.

The CULVER'S eldest son Clarence was born October 3, 1924. He graduated from Maloy High School where he had played basketball. He attended NWMSU at Maryville before going into the army [World War II]. He taught at schools in Iowa and Genesco, Illinois before going to Niles, Illinois, a Chicgo suburb. He was superintendent there for 29 years, bringing many new programs to the school. When Clarence died of leukemia August of 1981 at the age of 57 years, the school system renamed the school the Clarence CULVER High School. The family considers this namesake a great honor!

Clarence married Doris NORBERG from Shenandoah. They were the parents of three children, John a tool and dye (sic) maker in Flordia, Suzie CHEN an RN living with her husband and son in Connecticut, and Debbie a beautician living with her family in the Chicago area.

Richard CULVER, probably one of the best basketball players to come from Maloy, was born on his father's January birthday in 1930. He had just graduated from UNI and been hired to teach near Marshalltown when he went to visit at his fiance's home and dived into shallow water at a river swimming beach and broke his neck. He was 21.

David Lee and Mae Marie were twins born October 13, 1934. They went to Maloy grade school and David walked to the highway and met the bus to ride to Mount Ayr so he could play basketball.

Mae chose to go to California with her friend Donna HARVEY when she finished high school. There she met and married Ray SHELDON. They have three children: Kenny, Sherry, and Patti. Ray died here of a sudden heart attack and was taken back to California for burial with his family. Mae was buried here with her family when she died of cancer in 1972. At that time her teenage children came to Iowa to make their home with their aunt, Pattie FOLTZ. They all graduated from Mount Ayr.

David went to NWMSU and then to the army [reserves]. He went to Chicago where he married Irene of Greek descent. They had three children, Mike, Mark and Vicky. David worked at selling insurance and for a delivery service before he died of a sudden heart attack just one week after his brother Clarence. Clarence and David were put to rest at Rose Hill.

Pattie, the youngest, born in August 1937, graduated from Mount Ayr Community High School and married Phillip FOLTZ. They live ona farm 4 1.2 miles north of Mount Ayr. Pattie is a very busy farm wife, helping in the farming operations and sponsoring worthwile projects through the Cattlemen's Association. She is also active in the First Christian Church in Mount Ayr as is Phil. They have three daughers. Kathy is in Des Moines. Pamela finished a merchandising course in Texas before she married Clint POORE. They have two children, Caine and Cassie, and live in Mount Ayr where he helps his father-in-law. Ann is a freshman in high school.

Agnes BEST was united in marriage to Ernest JENNINGS in 1929. They made their home in and around Maloy and like others worked wherever they could. Ernest did farm work and butchered for people when perhaps his pay for the butchering would be the head and liver to take home.

In February, 1930, a baby girl was born to them at their home. They named her Phyllis Jewell. About this time Ernest had been able to "hire on" to the crew building a highway from Mount Ayr to Bedford. The work was done with horses.

In November 1933, Phyllis was joined by a brother, Ernest Merle. He was born in the little yellow house west of town. It would seem life was perfect for them now, but in a couple of years tragedy would strike the home. Agnes became very ill and was diagnosed as having Hotchkin's disease. She went to Iowa City in the big blue ambulance regularly for blood transfusions, but on May 25, 1937, this 23-year-old mother passed away.

Ernest was remarried a few years later to Geraldine MAYERS and three sons were born to them. He worked for Jack O'CONNOR. He died of lung cancer in 1947. He and Agnes are buried in the Shay [Platte River] Cemetery.

Phyllis now lives in Columbus, Nebraska. Merle returned to the Maloy area and went to school a few years. He later married and became the father of twin daughters in 1961. In February of 1962 he disappeared from his home in Kansas City and has not been heard from since.

Phyllis JENNINGS BALLENGER and husband Don, who is a mechanic for Thermo-King in Schulyer, Nebraska, live at Columbus, where Phyllis enjoys her hobbies of people, music, playing her guitar and crocheting.

Her daughter, Judy Kay PASK, who was born in Maloy, lives in Arvada, Colorado. She is the mother of four children and the grandmother of two. She and her husband Paul have their own chemical business.

Tina Mae ABBOTT was born in 1949. She has a son, 15, and a married daughter. Tina's husband Fred is a heavy equipment mechanic. His business is in Denver, Colorado.

The third daughter is Jackie Lee WIEBE, mother of two sons, 7 and 11. They live in Rochester, Minnesota. Jackie works for Hy-Vee there.

Phyllis also shares some of her memories she has accumulated in her 56 years. Besides her parents and borhter Merle, she remembers in Maloy, a puppy called Lucky, a pair of little goats and fresh-killed rabbits hanging on the clothesline (which served as the deep freeze) until needed for a meal.

Good thoughts come to mind of Father CULHANE, her friend, and the beautiful Catholic Church. She remembers Rita SHAY fondly as her first school teacher and Irma LYNCH as her last when she was a freshman.

Other fond memories include the WARIN sisters, Johnnie's station, Frank and the store and dance hall, Marie SHEIL and the post office, Fred MILLER the mailman, Ralph and Honey SCHUSTER, a fast trip to Creston hospital with a ruptured appendix, the DUGANS, the CULVERS and Aunt Della who was always there for everyone, and Donna FREEMEYER STEWART, her best friend.

NOTE: Ernest JENNINGS was born March 16, 1902 at Redding, Iowa ; and died June 25, 1947 with interment at Platte River Cemetery near Maloy. He married in 1929 Agnes BEST and had two children, and married second in 1940 Geraldine MYERS.
~ Abstracted Newspaper Obituaries of Page and Taylor Counties

SOURCE: Maloy, Iowa Centennial History: 1887 - 1987 Pp. 126-27.

Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library

Transcription and Notes by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2011