Off the Top of My Mind: Memories of My Nieces and Nephews

By Carolyn Furlong

Off the Top of My Mind is Ms. Furlongs fourth book. The first, The Daenzer Story, a biography that chronicles the history of the insurance business in the 1900s; and the second, The Carpenter, a story about her father building the familys farm home after a fire. The third, The Racer covered three historical periods in which Paul Fuzzy Furlong participated a meteorological expedition to the North Pole, advancement of propeller planes to jets following WWII and power boat racing at his brainchild, the Miami Marine Stadium.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514455012

Carolyn Furlong

Carolyn Furlong was born on a farm near Chillicothe, Iowa. She was the fifth daughter of Carl and Leora McElroy and has one younger brother. She attended a rural school until high school age, when she enrolled in Ottumwa, Iowa High School. Carolyn Furlong was married to William Loy and later to Paul B. Furlong, both now deceased. She is the mother of four sons, Michael Loy, William Loy, Kelly Furlong and Kerry Furlong, and an adopted daughter, Kim Furlong Corlew. Ms. Furlong began working in the insurance business in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1953, a career she pursued after moving to Miami, Florida in 1961. She has been involved in a number of insurance organizations and served as president of the National Association of Insurance Women in 1980. She holds several insurance professional designations, including CPCU, CLU, CEBS and CPIW. She is a member of the Miami Lakes Congregational Church that is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. “The Carpenter” is Ms. Furlong’s second book, the first being “The Daenzer Story”, a biography that chronicles the history of the insurance business in the 1900s.

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Copyright © 2016 by Carolyn I. Furlong.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016901451

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-5144-5503-6

Softcover   978-1-5144-5502-9

eBook   978-1-5144-5501-2

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Rev. date: 03/08/2016

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1 Bettina Jane and Anthony Speyrer

Chapter 2 Marjorie Anne and Ellsworth Earl Myers

Chapter 3 Kathryn Eleanor and Willard Frances Whitaker, Jr.

Chapter 4 Vera Elizabeth and Eric Albin Erickson

Chapter 5 William Todd and Lucille Irene Fattig McElroy

Chapter 6 Carolyn Iris McElroy and William Orville Loy; and Paul Brewster Furlong

Chapter 7 Leora Sophia Byrum McElroy Moore

Chapter 8 In Conclusion

The McElroy First Cousins' Dates of Birth

McElroy Cousins' And Families' Occupations & Hobbies

PREFACE

Over the years and as I have aged, I often reminisce about certain occasions with my nieces and nephews and, of course, my own children. I can picture them clearly as they were then, and often the time and place is out of the blue with no particular historical significance. It has been a very special time of my life to see the productive adults they have become, and I have followed their careers closely.

In 1992, my children and those of my sisters and brother began holding what they call the McElroy Cousins Reunion. The first was in Houston, and since then we have met at Disneyland in Orlando, Florida; Stone Mountain Georgia; twice in Lafayette, Louisiana; Ottumwa, Iowa; Key Largo, Florida; Dana Point, California; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Nashville, Tennessee; and Austin, Texas. The 2016 reunion is planned for the Tampa, Florida area. The Cousins have lived all over the globe, not only in a number of parts of the United States, but in Russia, Africa, Australia and Norway. As the families have multiplied, there are now around 120 (and counting) children, spouses, grand-children and great-grandchildren, all the offspring of my parents. They currently reside in eleven U.S. states, Australia and Norway. The reunions are usually attended by fifty or sixty whose schedules permit it.

My last living sister and brother passed away in 2013, two months apart. At the 2014 reunion in Austin, as the last man standing, I found myself relating my memories of my nieces and nephews to those who were in attendance -- (Hey, Dave, remember the time I removed the splinter from your foot?). Soon there was a chorus of Aunt Carolyn, why don't you write another book with all that you remember about us? And here it is, literally, Off the Top of My Mind.

The First Cousins have also contributed random memories, and I can just hear you, the readers: Oh yeah, I remember that!

CHAPTER 1

Bettina Jane and Anthony Speyrer

I had just turned seventeen when I graduated from high school in Ottumwa, Iowa. It was June, 1944. I had an invitation from my sister, Betty to work for the summer in Washington, DC. She and my brother-in-law, Tony Speyrer lived in West Cherrydale, a suburb near Arlington, VA. Tony was serving in the Navy in Washington, D.C. at the time.

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I took the train to Washington and shared a seat with a soldier bound for Aberdeen Proving Grounds in nearby Maryland. He invited me to visit him some Sunday when we were both settled.

Betty and Tony's neighbor who worked for the government had lined up a summer job for me. It was in the U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the Division of I&E, which stood for Information & Education. Smokey the Bear had just been introduced to provide information about forest fires to school kids. My job was typing, and I frequently came across the word materiel with an e. Materiel referred to the forester's equipment or gear. An accomplished speller, or so I thought since I had won the Wapello County spelling contest in the 8th grade, I thought the correct spelling was material, with an a. I typed it that way for many pages until my supervisor, Ethel Kamm caught it. I had to go back and make all the corrections.

Three men who worked in the Department of I&E took a liking to me, and invited me to go to lunch at a nice restaurant on several occasions. They called themselves "the triumvirate" as if they imagined themselves to be rebels. One was Bill Bergoffen, and all three were very smart and good writers. I can't imagine why they took an interest in me, but the lunches and listening to their discussions that were way over my head were quite an experience for a young girl from Iowa.

I did go to Aberdeen Proving Grounds one Sunday afternoon to visit the soldier from the train. It seemed like a nice picnic atmosphere. I took the train back to Washington that evening, and took a cab back to Betty and Tony's. The cab driver had a lady with him and his car radio was on a music station. She sang "C'est si bon" in a very soft, romantic way. I was still somewhat in a dream from the pleasant outdoor afternoon, and to this day I can't get that song out of my head. Kelly had the orchestra play it for me at the reception following his wedding to Melissa. It is going to be the theme song at my memorial service when that time comes.

One night before I left Washington to go back to Iowa, the