DAVIS-BROWN-GUNNELS Reunion Held on Sunday June 2, 2013 -- This item contains family news for the families of both my parents, James Orville "Jake" Brown, and Kiree (Hartley) Brown. Mom's mother was Tessie Gunnels, and Tessie's sister, Annie Gunnels, married into the Davis family.
The organizers of the Davis-Brown-Gunnels reunion were pleasantly surprised by a good turnout at Sunday's reunion in Ava at the American Legion Hall. Attendance was bolstered by a whole table with the family of Carol (Denney) and Danny Mork of Springfield, MO. Carol's sister Beverly Williams also attended from Sulphur, OK.
At right, Carol and Beverly are pictured at the funeral of their Grandmother, Wilma (Davis) Flynn, with their brother, Chuck, and parents, Norma (Flynn) and Owen Denney, both of whom passed away in the last 12 months.
Carol and Beverly's Aunt Nancy Breshears and husband, Ronnie, were in attendance as usual--I think it's been years since those two ever missed one. .
We were also very pleased to see 89-year-old Clifton Davis, the eldest son of Aunt Annie (Gunnels) & Enoch Davis, along with his wife, Grace, and his young brother, Billy Davis and wife Darlene.
In the 2001 picture at left, Clifton was only 77 years old but doesn't look much different today except for a walker that helps him with his "get-a-long."
All four of the children of Maxine (Davis) Guthery Rosseau were in attendance -- Anna (of Cassville), Lee (of Seymour), Denzil (of Springfield), and Janie (of Ozark). Of course, always delightful L.D., accompanied his mother, Janie;
A surprise visitor was Lee and Lisa Guthery's daughter, Shalyn, a recent graduate of Iowa State University in Ames. She's headed off to Carnegie-Mellon University back east for graduate studies.
Right now, we're following this blog site for Shalyn as she heads from Ames Iowa to Pittsburgh PA by way of Seymour MO. http://isayhelloworld.wordpress.com/
I was so pleased to see my niece, Susan (Durham) Evans and son Jordan there was well. In the 2000 picture at left, Susan is holding Jordan as a small boy. Now Jordan is a star baseball player and entering the 8th grade at Thornfield School in northwest Ozark County MO.
Susan's husband, Dwight, could not come on Sunday because he was putting up hay. Ozarks farmers have a "small window" in which to get the hay up and Dwight had no choice. Not the first time that the men folk were kept away from a delicious meal because of time to put up hay.
Special surprises were Betty (Haynes) & Jerry Fouts of Nixa. Betty's mother was a Gunnels. Jerry was diagnosed with ALS several years ago but keeps on fighting the disease. The Fouts family have sold their really nice home outside Ozark MO and now have an equally nice but smaller condo in northeast Nixa MO
Another great guest was Jim Brown of Marshall MO. Jim is the great-grandson of "Elder" Isaac Brown who took his family to the Indian Territory in the late 1880s. Jim's family and a whole slew of aunts and uncles settled in what is now Nowata County OK. "Elder" Isaac has many descendants in that county as well as many more in the northwestern Oklahoma county of Woodward and specifically the village of Quinlan OK where "Elder" Isaac and many of his Browns are buried.
A retired deputy sheriff from central Missouri, Jim continues to help with the annual Rattlesnake roundup in Okeene OK each years and returned from there only about a month ago.
Of course, the event would not have happened without Cinita & Logan Brown, their daughters, Jane Brown, and Lynn Chrislaw with son Logan, plus last but not least was Betty (Davis) Burton, who always made sure the food and drinks were well arranged and accessible--a role she has performed for many many years too.
Thanks to all who attended, and our apologies to all who would have attended if given a little more advanced information.
At right, Carol and Beverly are pictured at the funeral of their Grandmother, Wilma (Davis) Flynn, with their brother, Chuck, and parents, Norma (Flynn) and Owen Denney, both of whom passed away in the last 12 months.
Carol and Beverly's Aunt Nancy Breshears and husband, Ronnie, were in attendance as usual--I think it's been years since those two ever missed one. .
In the 2001 picture at left, Clifton was only 77 years old but doesn't look much different today except for a walker that helps him with his "get-a-long."
A surprise visitor was Lee and Lisa Guthery's daughter, Shalyn, a recent graduate of Iowa State University in Ames. She's headed off to Carnegie-Mellon University back east for graduate studies.
Right now, we're following this blog site for Shalyn as she heads from Ames Iowa to Pittsburgh PA by way of Seymour MO. http://isayhelloworld.wordpress.com/
Susan's husband, Dwight, could not come on Sunday because he was putting up hay. Ozarks farmers have a "small window" in which to get the hay up and Dwight had no choice. Not the first time that the men folk were kept away from a delicious meal because of time to put up hay.
A retired deputy sheriff from central Missouri, Jim continues to help with the annual Rattlesnake roundup in Okeene OK each years and returned from there only about a month ago.
Of course, the event would not have happened without Cinita & Logan Brown, their daughters, Jane Brown, and Lynn Chrislaw with son Logan, plus last but not least was Betty (Davis) Burton, who always made sure the food and drinks were well arranged and accessible--a role she has performed for many many years too.
Thanks to all who attended, and our apologies to all who would have attended if given a little more advanced information.
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