I told my friends in Kansas City that I was heading home to attend my mother’s
funeral. Many thought of my home as Kansas City, but I have always referred to
Syracuse as “home”. My good friend Ted Kitten, a Kendall native, who has also
lived in Kansas City a long time feels the same way.
Well, Ted and I road-tripped to Syracuse on June 25th to pay respects to my
Mom Sally Scott, aka“Momo”.
Once in town, my first stop was to see Tim Kohart at Valley State Bank. I was
surprised to find out that my dad hired him to run the bank when he was still in
his twenties. The years have been good to Tim, and he was the perfect choice. It
was good to catch up on what was happening around town.
After cruising Main Street, our next stop was the pizzeria. I only had to travel 418
miles to get some good pizza! It was well worth the trip. We then checked into
The Boarders hotel, which was the perfect place for the whole Scott clan to be.
We had 12 hotel rooms and received the best in hospitality.
On Friday night, close friends and family met at the golf course for a dinner
hosted by Stan and Linda Englert. It was great to share excellent BBQ and
renew old friendships. It was such a blessing to see Barry Brown, David Black,
Keith Brown and Treg Hatcher. Treg hung out with my younger brother and sister
in high school, but he and I have developed a close friendship over the years at
the various class reunion get togethers. I also saw Rick Schmidt, and my kids
wanted to know who I was talking to with that long hair. I replied, “It was Rick.
You should have seen him when his hair was longer and had a mullet.” Their
response was a collective, “Ewwww.” Sorry, Rick!
Saturday, was all for my mom, Momo. The cemetery was hot and dusty and just
as I remembered it. Don Fellers did an excellent job with making all the
arrangements and ensuring everything went smoothly. Ardeen led a beautiful
service. It was so nice to see mom’s old friends, Sharon Englert and Laura
Graber. I couldn’t help remember hearing an old tape recording of Laura’s New
Year’s Eve speech after she had one too many. We kids were wondering why
she sounded so funny! We all shared a few stories and shed a few tears giving
mom a proper sendoff. It was a sorrowful drive back to town from the cemetery.
Following the service, we had a luncheon at the Black Bison. Tommy and Janet
Thomeczek were magnificent hosts. It was so good to finally meet Heath and
Michele Boy. Mom never got to meet them in person, though she did paint a pet
portrait for them, but she would have agreed that they were the nicest of people.
I had been looking forward to seeing Dorothy Lockett but knew it would be
difficult. When I finally got to see her I completely lost it, which I knew was going
to happen. That is what happens when you care so much about someone. I had
a similar reaction when I saw my Aunt Pat Goss and cousin Shana Smith, who
came in for the funeral. I also saw Linda (Durler) Dinkel, whose mom (and my mom’s
best friend) suffered from the same terrible disease. I can’t tell you how much I
hate the word “cancer”. It has taken my mother-in-law, mom and dad, almost
taken my daughter, and has its claws in me. I pray that it is God’s will that I don’t
get taken, but take comfort in the fact that God is with me no matter the trial
(Isaiah 41:9-10).
A trip to Syracuse wouldn’t be complete without a journey to Ron and Linda
Brown’s farm where we are always welcomed like family. The black, flesh-eating
flies were very happy to see us, too! We got to take family photos in the wheat
field, and my grandkids ran around like they owned the place.
We just had to eat more pizza, so we came back to town and closed The Pizzeria down.
Perhaps my daughter said it best in her FaceBook post, “I’m glad we could bury
Momo here. It’s a good place with good people. I’m so thankful for my family,
and that we could all be here together, supporting each other. It’s what Momo
would have wanted.”
I realize how good it was to be HOME. It was a horrible thing for Momo to go
through, but knowing that she is at peace with God makes it easier for our family.
Thank you everyone for respecting and honoring my mom.
With love,
Jack Scott and The Entire Momo Clan
(Hubbards, Scotts & Crocketts)
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