Carolyn Mae Jamison was born in Gove, Kansas, August 16, 1925, to Arthur and Rowena Baker. She and her sister, Opal, and brother, Buster, were small children (Carolyn just 8 months old) when their father died of a ruptured appendix. Their mother, Rowena, was a widow at the age of 22.
When Carolyn was 4 years old, Rowena married Ross Adams, a rancher and stockman, and the family moved to a farm 20 miles south of Quinter. Carolyn’s siblings, Wayne and Juanita, were born here. They attended the Gove Methodist Church. The family experienced nearly a decade of dirt, wind and drought but never went hungry—said Carolyn, “We ate a lot of eggs, meat, gravy and apples.” As a child, Carolyn and her siblings survived whooping cough, scarlet fever, and flu epidemics. She attended East Lone Star Country School. She enjoyed telling how at the age of 11, she was allowed to take the family car and drive over to pick up the Leighton girls and they’d go to Sunday School and church at the Missouri Flats school house.
Carolyn met Francis Jamison at Quinter High School and they were married November 27, 1941, (Thanksgiving Day), in Smith Center, Kansas. After the wedding, they returned to their respective homes and didn’t tell anyone they’d gotten married. Once word was out, some people said the marriage would never last—little did they know! Teacher, Miss Ethel Jamison, who welcomed and supported their youthful marriage, even threw a wedding shower for them—as a side note, Miss Jamison not only taught Francis and Carolyn in high school, but also all four of their children. Carolyn and Francis made their first home with Francis’ parents, Johnny and Ila Jamison, until Francis graduated high school.
The couple moved into Quinter while Carolyn finished high school and Francis worked for the Quinter Co-op. Following her graduation, they moved to a farm 10 miles northwest of town. They had no electricity or running water, no mail route or phone and the road to the house was just a trail. Eventually they did have electricity by using a 6 volt wind charger, giving them one light bulb to see by, but only if the wind blew. They milked cows and Francis both farmed and worked in town for Carroll Jamison moving houses. Sons, Larry and Galen, were born in Quinter. Francis and Carolyn could hardly wait for them to grow up big enough to play games with them as it was quite lonesome out there. Carolyn enjoyed telling the story of the night the four of them had gone to town and came home much too late, getting caught in a severe snow storm, only to get stuck on the trail to the house. Francis had to walk up to the house and not having taken a coat on their trip to town, wore Carolyn’s coat and tied a diaper on his head. What a welcome sight when she saw him coming over the hill in the tractor, fur coat and diaper still intact, to pull them home. Once Larry started to school they moved to Quinter, to the home they bought and remodeled many times over on Castle Rock Street where Francis and Carolyn lived 62 years. Children, John and Reva, were born in Quinter.
Along with farming, in 1952 Francis and Carolyn bought a jeep trencher and started the Jamison Construction Company. All 3 sons joined in the business as they grew old enough. They laid irrigation, gas and water lines in Kansas and Colorado. In 1968 they bought the Quinter Redi-Mix and Jamison Sand Company which the family operated for nearly 14 years. Carolyn worked as bookkeeper.
What a great home Carolyn and Francis provided for their four children. It was a safe and fun place for growing up. Kids all over Quinter will remember climbing trees, games of “kick the can” and “Annie Annie Over” along with some serious cave building and tunnel designs by the three boys.
Carolyn deeply loved and cared for her husband and family and was always there for them, day or night. She would defend and stand beside them with pride and understanding. She experienced times of sadness and heartache over the years. She and Francis lost their first-born son, Larry, from cancer in 1998. But her faith in God helped her grow stronger, tougher and more beautiful through life.
Carolyn and Francis celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in November 1991 by celebrating their wedding vows at the Church of the Brethren in Quinter. In 2011 they were together 70 years, missing that special anniversary date by just 3 weeks by Francis’ death from cancer. Carolyn spoke often of the good year they had together prior to Francis’ death where they talked about life and death and everything in between. That last year, Francis even taught Carolyn how to use Quick Books in order to continue the financial piece of their business.
Along with being the world’s best grandma according to her 10 grandkids, Carolyn was an artist, well-known for her beautiful china paintings and oil paintings, and through the years enjoyed lessons in photography, guitar and square dancing. She and Francis loved to dance and made a graceful pair on a ballroom floor. Carolyn enjoyed keeping a well manicured lawn, gardening and growing flowers, especially roses and peonies. She enjoyed sewing, writing short stories, flying with Francis, even getting her pilot’s license. Many years were spent serving as den mother, girl scout leader, and chaperone on school trips for their children. She was a life-long member of the Geni-Felte Club and Stitch and Chatter Club. She and Francis were long-time members of the Church of the Brethren.
Following Francis’ death, a day did not go by but what her thoughts and heart were not about him. When cleaning out his bedside table, she found a poem he had left for her which gave her daily comfort and hope, helping her know he was safely home in Heaven and that there was still work for her to do here, but that when that work was done, God would also call her home and what joy it would be to see her come! May her faithfulness live on in the lives of her children and their families.
Carolyn died April 6, 2015, at the Gove County Medical Center in Quinter. She is survived by sons Galen and wife Candy of Quinter, John and wife Karla of Dadesville MO, daughter Reva and husband John of Omaha NE; 10 grandchildren and spouses–Mike and Linda Jamison, Lisa Westfall, Ross Jamison, Traci & Rob Smith, Craig and Melinda Jamison, Christina and David Stocker, Mike and Scarlet Jamison-Harnden, Geni Jamison, Chris and Cammi Neal and Michelle Neal; 21 great grandchildren, 1 great-great grandchild, sister Juanita and husband Eugene Graham and family of Scottsdale, AZ, brother-in-law Bob Maxwell and wife Bea and family of Bend, OR, and a host of relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, April 10, 2015 at the Quinter Church of the Brethren. Burial will be in the Baker Township Cemetery, Quinter.
There will be no public visitation.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Quinter Church of the Brethren. Checks made to the church may be sent in care of Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.schmittfuneral.com.
