Edna Marie "Ed" BEAR, the seventh of ten children of of William Franklin "Frank" and Anna Pearl (SHELDEN) BEAR, was born on a farm in Monroe Township of Ringgold County, Iowa, on August 6, 1916. When Edna was six-years-old (1922) she moved with her family to the BEAR homeplace after the death of her grandmother, Amanda (DULY) BEAR. Her grandfather Solomon "Sol" BEAR had died in 1913. Sol and Amanda are buried in the BEAR Cemetery located on the homeplace. Edna's maternal grandparents, Reuben SHELDON and Pheba (ZORENES) are buried in the Oliver Cemetery, as are Edna's parents. Edna's parents divorced in the 1940's, and Anna married Fred CARSE and moved to Omaha, Nebraska. Her father Frank never remarried.

Edna attended high school at Beaconsfield, Iowa, her freshman year and approximately 6 weeks of her sophomore year. She rode a horse to high school and one rainy day the horse slipped in the mud and threw her and sister Frata off. This was not the first time this had happened. Edna decided she had had enough and didn't finish high school. She regretted this later because she was a very good student. She remained on the farm helping with chores, etc. until she got married.

Softball (called kittenball at that time) was very popular and Edna and her sisters Theola and Gladys played on the same team. I've been told they were all good players.

Edna got her GED (graduate equivalent degree) and then attended the Iowa School of Beauty Culture and received her Cosmotology diploma in April of 1961; passed her State Board examination; and received her Cosmotology license on May 15, 1961. She continued this work until she became ill in 1969.

Edna died April 13, 1970 from cancer. She had a malignant tumor on a kidney, had the kidney removed, but the cancer had already spread. She is buried at the Indianola, Warren County, Iowa I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Edna married Jesse Harold "Jess" STACY in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, on October 4, 1934. Jesse, the 4th of 5 children of Walter Alexander and Eva Lena (GRUBB) STACY, was born October 28, 1912, Lamoni, Decatur County, Iowa.

The STACY family moved to Ringgold County, Iowa, a few years later where Jess lived until 1942. Walter and Eva are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr, Iowa, as is their youngest son, George Albert. Jess' maternal grandparents, Jesse T. GRUBB and Julia Ann Cahoon (COOK) GRUVV lived on a farm near Blackmore Corner in Ringgold County. They are buried in the southwest corner of Oliver Cemetery. Jesse was named after his grandfather who served in theCivil War. His paternal grandparents, George STACY and Amanda Eveline (POORE) STACY, farmed in Ringgold County. For a time George was also a stagecoach driver on the stage line from Eddyville, Iowa, to Nebraska City, Nebraska. They are buried in the Ringgold Cemetery, Lotts Creek Township, along with a daughter Bessie.

Jess attended several grade schools and attended high school in Benton, Iowa, just west of Mount Ayr, Iowa. Jess was a good student and as a result he was allowed to skip the 7th grade. He was the valedictorian of his class and graduated at the age of 16 in May of 1929. Jess was a good basketball player as evidenced by making the all-county team in 1929. Lee BEAL (husband of Gladys BEAR) and a good school friend of Jesse also made the all-county team.

Ringgold County was a hotbed of basketball at that time. The Benton team missed going to the state tournament by one game. They were defeated by Ottumwa (the 1928 State Champion) in the finals of the district tournament.

Jesse continued to play town team ball for Benton and Diagonal after graduation. Jesse spent time working on the farm and road construction after graduation. Jess and Lee BEAL did construction work in the state of Louisiana and eventually went to work for ROTH Construction Compnay (owned by Ernie ROTH) located in Indianola, Iowa in the mid-1930's.

After Edna's death, Jesse remarried on September 26, 1971 to Lois Evelyn (ROUSE) DOUGLAS. Jesse died of Hodgkins Disease on August 17, 1977, and was interred at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Indianola, Iowa.

Edna Marie (BEAR) and Jesse Harold STACY were the parents of one son, Ronald Duane STACY. Ronald married Janet Marie MILLER, and they were the parents of three children: Lisa Marie, Steven Ronald, and Lynn Anne STACY.

Photograph courtesy of the Bear Family

Submission by the Bear Family, October of 2009