Obituary for Emma Orphania (Clayton) Cathcart, 1895-1986 (Written by her granddaughter, Gail Slemmer, in 2015)
Emma Orphania Clayton was born September 23, 1895, in Willow County, Nebraska, the fourth of eight children of William Horace Clayton and Margaret Sophia (Martin) Clayton. Her father died when she was 10, and her stepfather would not allow her to attend high school. In 1915 she married Frank “Wayne” Cathcart in Oberlin, Kansas, and the couple traveled by covered wagon to an area newly opened for homesteading in Bent County, Colorado. Their first house was 14 by 24 feet and so mjuch larger than the other dwellings in the area that the neighbors teased them about putting up a hotel. They thrived in this community, which everyone called the Dry Land, for nineteen years, raising four children and building a successful horse-and-mule ranch. When the Dust Bowl destroyed the region, the family was forced to move, first to Las Animas, then to Greeley, then to the Pacific Northwest, where Wayne worked as a ditch rider for the Bureau of Reclamation. Emma worked as a fruit picker while they were making their new start. At each location where Wayne was assigned, first near Pendleton, Oregon, and last near Pasco, Washington, Emma kept an immaculate home, created bountiful gardens, and made good friends in the community. After Wayne retired in the 1960s, the family moved back to Berthoud, Colorado, to be near their children. Emma was an excellent quilter, as well as a gardener, and throughout her retirement she kept her family well suppplied with heirloom quilts, home-canned pickles and fruits, and frozen pies. She died at home on September 26, 1986. She was survived by three daughters, Cecile Audrey Chandler of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Violet Evelyn White, of Denver; and Irma Arlene Cathcart, of Berthoud; three granddaughters; and six grandchildren. Her husband Wayne (1893-1983) and son, Lawrence Leon (1923-1975), preceded her in death.
Emma Orphania Clayton was born September 23, 1895, in Willow County, Nebraska, the fourth of eight children of William Horace Clayton and Margaret Sophia (Martin) Clayton. Her father died when she was 10, and her stepfather would not allow her to attend high school. In 1915 she married Frank “Wayne” Cathcart in Oberlin, Kansas, and the couple traveled by covered wagon to an area newly opened for homesteading in Bent County, Colorado. Their first house was 14 by 24 feet and so mjuch larger than the other dwellings in the area that the neighbors teased them about putting up a hotel. They thrived in this community, which everyone called the Dry Land, for nineteen years, raising four children and building a successful horse-and-mule ranch. When the Dust Bowl destroyed the region, the family was forced to move, first to Las Animas, then to Greeley, then to the Pacific Northwest, where Wayne worked as a ditch rider for the Bureau of Reclamation. Emma worked as a fruit picker while they were making their new start. At each location where Wayne was assigned, first near Pendleton, Oregon, and last near Pasco, Washington, Emma kept an immaculate home, created bountiful gardens, and made good friends in the community. After Wayne retired in the 1960s, the family moved back to Berthoud, Colorado, to be near their children. Emma was an excellent quilter, as well as a gardener, and throughout her retirement she kept her family well suppplied with heirloom quilts, home-canned pickles and fruits, and frozen pies. She died at home on September 26, 1986. She was survived by three daughters, Cecile Audrey Chandler of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Violet Evelyn White, of Denver; and Irma Arlene Cathcart, of Berthoud; three granddaughters; and six grandchildren. Her husband Wayne (1893-1983) and son, Lawrence Leon (1923-1975), preceded her in death.
Obituary for Emma Orphania (Clayton) Cathcart, 1895-1986 (Written by her granddaughter, Gail Slemmer, in 2015)
Emma Orphania Clayton was born September 23, 1895, in Willow County, Nebraska, the fourth of eight children of William Horace Clayton and Margaret Sophia (Martin) Clayton. Her father died when she was 10, and her stepfather would not allow her to attend high school. In 1915 she married Frank “Wayne” Cathcart in Oberlin, Kansas, and the couple traveled by covered wagon to an area newly opened for homesteading in Bent County, Colorado. Their first house was 14 by 24 feet and so mjuch larger than the other dwellings in the area that the neighbors teased them about putting up a hotel. They thrived in this community, which everyone called the Dry Land, for nineteen years, raising four children and building a successful horse-and-mule ranch. When the Dust Bowl destroyed the region, the family was forced to move, first to Las Animas, then to Greeley, then to the Pacific Northwest, where Wayne worked as a ditch rider for the Bureau of Reclamation. Emma worked as a fruit picker while they were making their new start. At each location where Wayne was assigned, first near Pendleton, Oregon, and last near Pasco, Washington, Emma kept an immaculate home, created bountiful gardens, and made good friends in the community. After Wayne retired in the 1960s, the family moved back to Berthoud, Colorado, to be near their children. Emma was an excellent quilter, as well as a gardener, and throughout her retirement she kept her family well suppplied with heirloom quilts, home-canned pickles and fruits, and frozen pies. She died at home on September 26, 1986. She was survived by three daughters, Cecile Audrey Chandler of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Violet Evelyn White, of Denver; and Irma Arlene Cathcart, of Berthoud; three granddaughters; and six grandchildren. Her husband Wayne (1893-1983) and son, Lawrence Leon (1923-1975), preceded her in death.
Emma Orphania Clayton was born September 23, 1895, in Willow County, Nebraska, the fourth of eight children of William Horace Clayton and Margaret Sophia (Martin) Clayton. Her father died when she was 10, and her stepfather would not allow her to attend high school. In 1915 she married Frank “Wayne” Cathcart in Oberlin, Kansas, and the couple traveled by covered wagon to an area newly opened for homesteading in Bent County, Colorado. Their first house was 14 by 24 feet and so mjuch larger than the other dwellings in the area that the neighbors teased them about putting up a hotel. They thrived in this community, which everyone called the Dry Land, for nineteen years, raising four children and building a successful horse-and-mule ranch. When the Dust Bowl destroyed the region, the family was forced to move, first to Las Animas, then to Greeley, then to the Pacific Northwest, where Wayne worked as a ditch rider for the Bureau of Reclamation. Emma worked as a fruit picker while they were making their new start. At each location where Wayne was assigned, first near Pendleton, Oregon, and last near Pasco, Washington, Emma kept an immaculate home, created bountiful gardens, and made good friends in the community. After Wayne retired in the 1960s, the family moved back to Berthoud, Colorado, to be near their children. Emma was an excellent quilter, as well as a gardener, and throughout her retirement she kept her family well suppplied with heirloom quilts, home-canned pickles and fruits, and frozen pies. She died at home on September 26, 1986. She was survived by three daughters, Cecile Audrey Chandler of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Violet Evelyn White, of Denver; and Irma Arlene Cathcart, of Berthoud; three granddaughters; and six grandchildren. Her husband Wayne (1893-1983) and son, Lawrence Leon (1923-1975), preceded her in death.
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