James E. LEBARON

James
Apr 25, 1924
May 28, 2000

Hollis
Oct 11, 1924
Jul 26, 2017

Hollis Edra (Rowlett) LeBaron was born on Saturday, October 11, 1924, in Trask, Missouri. She passed away on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, in Mountain View, Missouri. Hollis was the daughter of Edward Rowlett and Maude (Seats) Rowlett.
Hollis grew up on the family farm and attended the nearby rural school—a native-stone, one-room schoolhouse. Later in life, she often recalled her childhood days, which included a good deal of labor on the farm with her siblings. In the spring, her father planted a large field of corn and sorghum, which she had to hoe and weed when she was big enough to do so. In the 1930s, times were tough. She remembered that her mattress was made out of corn shucks, and that her mother made covers for the beds out of chicken feed sacks, washed and sewn together. During a long drought at the time, her father hooked up their team of horses to the wagon, carried wooden rain barrels, and travelled to a spring to fill up with water for household use and to satisfy the thirsty cattle. In good times, her family grew a large garden and raised animals, which supplied their chief sustenance. Hollis remembered trips via horse and wagon to Pomona in order to secure supplies, such as sugar and flour—and of course, candy. Much like doing laundry with a boiling kettle and washboard at the farm’s spring, going to town for shopping was an all-day event.
As an early teen, Hollis traveled on an adventure by train to California, where she stayed with family several months. She later returned to the Ozarks and married James E. LeBaron on November 7, 1942, in Salem, Arkansas. They lived in the Mountain View, Missouri, area and had three children, Joyce, Lynda, and James. With her husband, Hollis helped run the Trask Lumber Company for several years. During her life, Hollis held a variety of jobs. An expert quilter, she worked at the Angelica garment factory in Mountain View. One of her favorite and most rewarding jobs was at the St. Francis Hospital, where she served as a nurse’s aide for twenty years. At this position, she fondly spoke of the maternity ward and “the joy of holding newborns.”
For some time, Hollis was a member of Little Zion Baptist Church as well as the Eastern Star. Hollis was well known for her quilting, gardening, scrumptious blackberry cobbler, and her straight-forward manner of expressing her opinions.
Hollis was preceded in death by her parents Edward and Maude Rowlett; her husband James E. LeBaron; five brothers Brady Rowlett, Jake Rowlett, Earl (Shorty) Rowlett, infant twin brothers Edgar and Edward who died at birth; and two sisters Arlene Polk and Agnes Bird.
Hollis is survived by her two sisters Dorene Woodruff (Mountain View) and Bonnie Lemon (Willow Springs). She is also survived by three children and five grandchildren: Joyce Hawks and husband Jack (Mountain View) and their two children: Kim Allen and husband Richard (Tull, AR), Scott Hawks and wife Lori (Mount Pleasant, IA); Lynda Malone and husband David (West Plains) and their two children: Dave Malone II and wife Jenni (West Plains), Melissa Bartel and husband Brady (Augusta, KS); James E. LeBaron II (Salem, MO) and his child: James LeBaron III and wife Jenn (Richmond, VA). As well, she is survived by two great grandchildren, Caiden Smith (West Plains) and Scarlett Bartel (Augusta, KS). Another great granddaughter will arrive this fall. Hollis LeBaron was loved by many and will be sorely missed—yet remembered daily. [duncanfuneralhome.com]

Contributed on 2/23/15 by mjrwag
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Record #: 765316

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