Leona McCaslin

Leona Belle McCaslin, 102 Broken Bow centenarian Leona McCaslin will be laid to rest Thursday, November 12, 2015, 102 years from the day she made her entrance into this world. Remembered for her smile and determination in her gait, Leona died Nov. 6, 2015, at the Quality Care Facility in Broken Bow. Leona Belle (Baker) McCaslin was born May 9, 1913, at the same time the women of the United States were fighting for the right to vote. The first of five children of Ernest and Clara Belle (Loyd) Baker, Leona was born in the Bethel Union community at her grandma’s house, just up the road from the home where she lived just four months shy of when she answered her Lord’s calling to her heavenly home. Her siblings, Dorothy, Alvin, Dale and Elwood, though younger, preceded her in death. She was schooled at Snake Run through the 10th grade, going on to graduate from Broken Bow High School with the class of 1931. “To get to school, part of the time we walked and then we rode horses. Alvin and Elwood rode one horse, and Dorothy, Dale and I rode the other. Then as we grew and lived farther, we drove a team hitched to a buggy,” Leona noted in the first of two books of memories she compiled for her family ‘Remember…’ Leona took Normal Training in high school, and started teaching school directly after graduation, teaching first at Tappan Valley, two miles north of Broken Bow. She had eight grades, kindergarten through 8th and took home $65 per month. Most days she walked from where she boarded in Broken Bow. Over the next 10 years she taught in several locations including East Custer, Snake Run, Turner Valley and Rose Valley. Her students speak of her with great fondness remarking that Leona entered into the playground games with the children, and could she ever play ball. It was at Rose Valley she met her husband of 62 years, Charles David McCaslin. They were married Feb. 22, 1941. To this union three children, Beverly, Charlene and Norman were born. They spent their years raising cattle, raising their children, and working the land they called home. If there were a single word to describe Leona, it would have to be grace. She demonstrated how to grow old gracefully, changing her interests and focus as she entered each stage of life. Leona always wanted to reach her 100th birthday, and that always served as a goal. She once told son Norman, that as soon as she turned 100, he’d have to find a different farm hand. She truly loved going to the pastures, checking cattle, and being the fastest ‘stapler’ on the fencing crew. She always said that her own mother remained true to herself, focusing on family, her home, her flowers and her garden. “May I be like her,” she once wrote, and she was, for years sewing all of her own clothes and the clothes for her children taking pride in preserving the fruits and vegetables of her garden, and working the land beside her husband. Her experiences include the dust bowl era of the 30s, the 80s farm crisis and two World Wars. She saw the emergence of the age of flying, indoor plumbing, the REA and witnessed first-hand the change over from farming with horses, to the mega machinery of today. Into her 90s, she was still driving a tractor, with the C Farmall remaining her favorite. Her artistic talents were ever present, in her beautiful quilts, needlework projects and drawings. She took joy in tending to the needs of the birds, insisting that the seed containers be brought in each evening to protect them from the dew, and that water be provided year-round. Her diaries provide decades of weather data and a history of the animals (and people) who came to call. It was the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who could always make her laugh. In everything she did, she was always a lady, teaching by example and quiet reassurance. She, through her years, provided the epitome of how to grow old gracefully. She will be missed. Survivors include daughters Beverly Donham and husband, Mike, of Omaha and Charlene Connely and husband, Claris of Broken Bow; and son Norman and wife, Deb, of Broken Bow; three granddaughters, Kimberly Donham-Oliver of Omaha, Amy Bower and husband Bill of Burwell and Stephanie McCaslin and Husband Rob of La Plata, Maryland; grandsons David Donham and wife, Donna of Omaha; Mark Donham and wife, Julie of Weeping Water; Michael Connely and wife Karen of Broken Bow; Tim McCaslin and wife, Jessica of Broken Bow; and Jeff McCaslin and wife, Rachel of Lenexa, Kan., 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Charles, Sept. 9, 2003, her parents and siblings. Services are planned for Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow beginning at 10:30 a.m., with Pastor Scott Harvey officiating. Leona’s grandchildren will serve as pallbearers and honorary pallbearers. Burial will be in the Broken Bow Township Cemetery. A visitation is planned for Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, from 5-8 p.m. The family will be present to greet visitors from 5-6:30 p.m. A memorial is being established through the Custer County Foundation.