Back to your Mom's silver dress for the Pink Ball. I think I have previously mentioned that I have her on video tape trying the dress on for all of us when she bought it. She really was gorgeous in it.
After the ball, things moved quickly. Jeanne started moving her things from Kirksville to Roy's house. She put her home up for sale.
Jeanne always presented herself to everyone as a prim and proper Mormom woman. Some things she would never consider outside of marriage. One day before the wedding she made a comment about something she and Roy had been discussing in bed the previous night. It took me by surprise and I said something like, "in bed? You both in bed together, sleeping?"
She immediately got that "firm" voice of hers to tell me to get my mind out of the gutter. That there was only one bed in Roy's house at the time. They stayed on their respective sides, as she told him that there would be no sex until after the marriage ceremony! I didn't tread on that subject again.
At this point, the ad agency was floundering. I would go to your mom's house and bill out, and post incoming payments. I was always paid. But, Juanita wasn't. When she would ask Jeanne, she would reply that no money was coming in yet. I've always been glad that Juanita didn't ever ask me about what went on in Kirksville and if I saw money coming in. It would have put me in the middle and I couldn't have done that.
Jeanne ALWAYS had money to spend. When Juanita would ask, she would tell her that she wasn't getting paid yet, either. The cash she had was from all the insurance that your dad left.
Juanita somehow got them both involved in of all things, a light bulb business. It was to help bring in money until the ad agency started making a profit. They would travel all around the area, selling to companies large amounts of light bulbs to have on hand for their businesses, warehouses, etc. I remember they traveled to Burlington and pitched a contract to the airport there. They also did some sales calls in Des Moines. I don't for the life of me remember the name of the bulb company.
Juanita was by now scraping bottom. She didn't have rent money, she didn't have car payment money, utility money, and so on. She would hang her head (Juanita was very proud) and ask Jeanne for money. Get this. Jeanne would "loan" her money from the ad agency, and have her sign for it as such. I wish I knew where that paperwork went to! That is my answer for you about Juanita saying your mom "ciphoned" money from the business. Juanita did not have access to any of it. Not even the bank account. To even "borrow" from the company she had to ask your mom for it. Many, many times Juanita asked your mom to see the books, but always got an excuse and the books were never produced. Other than your mom, I was the only one who saw both the income and out go. And, I didn't see income that came later in the month. I usually only saw and posted some income when I did billing the first two weeks of each month. Your mom took care of most of the income herself, shall we say?
The ad agency had several accounts in Ottumwa. (Also, Kirksville, Agency and other surrounding small towns.) One of the best accounts was Karl, The Florist. He was a German man who passed the business to his son just before the ad agency started. Like this florist, most of the accounts had long been in Ottumwa, had good records, and paid their bills in a timely fashion. I don't recall having to send out Past Due Bills very many times.
For the record, Juanita did tell me during her cancer battle, that she knew Jeanne had money all that time as the income was going into her pocket only. She also knew that Jeanne had done something to Roy's mind and health. Juanita told me she fully believed Roy when he said he had large amount of money missing and unaccounted for. She went on to say that she didn't know how, but that Jeanne was responsible for Roy's bad health. She regretted not listening more closely to Roy about the health part until it was too late. She said, "As soon as Jeanne could, she shut him up and put him away in a home. She took whatever she could and got out of town as quick as she could." That is the closest to her exact words as I can remember.
There were two other girls working for the ad agency part-time. I'm pretty sure that they, too, were always paid on time. I've mentioned them before, one was named Sue, who pretty much did the same work that I did, along with occasionally baking us one mean chicken for our "community" lunch.
The other, Sheila W., did ad mock ups for their clients on her computer. She and her husband had 3 or 4 very rambunctious little boys and she worked out of her home. Her husband worked at The Ottumwa Courier Newspaper. They moved away a year or so after Juanita passed for better jobs, etc. I believe they went somewhere in Nebraska. She probably knows more of the Roy/Jeanne/Juanita story as she saw and spoke to Juanita frequently up until she passed. They were close and Juanita confided in Sheila a lot. (If you found me, I bet you could find them a lot easier.)
In November 1994, we moved to Columbia, Missouri. My husband at the time, was without a job in Ottumwa. His company had moved all their work to Juarez, Mexico for the "cheap" labor. Columbia had many more job opportunities.
I was invited to Roy & Jeanne's wedding, but was unable to go back right then, as we were house hunting, getting settled, starting my boy in a new school, my hubby was on 3rd shift, holidays were coming, etc. I still have the Christmas card that she sent with their wedding photo. I was very happy for them. I only met Roy a few short times, and he too, always had a smile, was warm and friendly, and looked at Jeanne with those "gaa-gaa" eyes that men use when they are in love.
I do remember wondering who all the people in the wedding photo were. If you remember Lucky2, I didn't know you or some of your siblings existed. Your mom always told me she had two sons. One was away on a Mission Trip. The other lived with her and was still going to school. When the first son came back, then she said the other son would then go on his Mission Trip. All of the times I was at your mom's Kirksville house, I never once saw your brother or any evidence of his existance.
In May of 1995, I was invited back to The Ottumwa Newcomer's Club. They were having a luncheon honoring past presidents of the club, of which I was one. I called Juanita and said to get a hold of Jeanne, Sheila and Sue and see if we could all get together.
She set it up for us to all meet at what was formerly The Greenbriar on Pennsylvania Avenue in Ottumwa for drinks in the mid afternoon. That was the first time I started to hear the really bad stuff.
Juanita said not to count on Jeanne. She told me how bad things were between them. And she told me how bad she felt for her friend, Roy, and she wished she could take back ever introducing them to each other.
She said Jeanne didn't do much lately. She laid around a lot and kept telling everyone she had Lupus. She was supposed to be seeing a doctor regularly, but would not tell Roy or Juanita the doctor's name.
Juanita went on to say that Roy had been calling her and confiding in her. He told Juanita that he was missing large amounts of money. He would question Jeanne, and she would feign Lupus sickness and have to lie down. Roy was really upset over this. Juanita continued on and said that Jeanne was a completely different person than who I had come to know. She was quiet and sullen. No longer friendly.
I found it to be true. Sue, Sheila and Juanita met me at the appointed time that afternoon. No Jeanne. We were having a good time catching up when in came Jeanne, probably about an hour late. She sat with us, yet away from sitting right next to any of us. She was aloof. Sure enough, she started telling me about her Lupus diagnosis and all of her medical problems and that no one seemed to understand. She said word for word, everything that Juanita had told me she would say. She just seemed cold, calculating, the spark was gone out of her eyes. It was not the lady I used to hang with, take to our weekend place and go boating. That lady was gone. That was the last time that I ever saw your mom.
Although Ottumwa was only 3 hours away, it got harder and harder to go back and visit with a ten year old's baseball, Cub Scouts, etc. schedules plus with my hubby's work schedule and later on my work schedule. We stayed in touch with occasional phone calls and then with emails when we got computers and learned to email.
By April of 1997, I found myself a single mom in need of emergency open heart surgery. My folks could not be in Missouri a lot to help with my boy, and persuaded me to move back to my hometime close to all my family.
I would go to Ottumwa 2 or 3 times a year. Whenever I could work around my son's schedule and had the money. I was never able to return to work and have been on Social Security ever since my heart surgery.
It was always hard to fit everyone in during a two day weekend, but I always tried. One weekend, when I ran out of time, I called Juanita to say that I was sorry but I would try to get back real soon so we could get together.
By this time we would email each other about once a week with our latest news, but she never once said she was ill. I've always thought she was so darned thoughtful of everyone, she probably thought I had enough on my plate to deal with. I can still quote her exact words as they still ring in my ears. She replied, "Well, it better be pretty soon because I'm dying.".
I almost laughed out loud. Always the kidder. Dying to see me, dying of boredom and wants to have some fun? Her next words cut through me and a little piece is still missing where that knife went in. "I have breast cancer. They couldn't stop it. It looks like it is spreading." I cannot even remember the rest of the conversation, I just know I cried the entire three hour ride back home.
**I'd like to finish this, but hubby is calling to go. I will finish this shortly
