STANTON, Erma (Jones) --- 1909-2010

YOUNG, JONES, STANTON, FARNHAM, OCONNOR

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 8/10/2011 at 19:54:01

Erma Stanton

Memorial graveside services for Erma Jones Stanton, 100, of Mukilteo, WA, formerly of Waukon, who died August 8, 2010 at her home in Mukilteo, will be held Friday, June 10 at 2 p.m. at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon. Friends are welcome to attend and greet the family at the service and fellowship time which will follow.
Erma Beryl Jones was born on the lyrical date of 9/9/09 in Waukon, the daughter of M. Scott and Mary Agnes “Mayme” (Young) Jones. She was named in honor of her grandfather, whose initials were E. B. Jones. Erma was a long-time member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. She graduated from Waukon High School in 1927 and took some classes at Waukon Jr. College.
She loved to recount stories of growing up in the small town just a few miles from the Mississippi River in the rolling hills of northeast Iowa. She remembered the first car to come to town. It was a Stanley Steamer. The kids would hear the owner in front of his house as he prepared the fire to get it going and they would run alongside as he rolled through town, because they knew that they could keep up with him and they also knew that before he got far he’d run out of fuel and they’d be able to forage for twigs and branches to get him going again.
She also told of wonderful sleigh rides in the winter. When they heard the bells of the sleigh the children would run and jump in the straw and have a great time. The Jones house had one of the first phones in town and neighbors would come by when they wanted to contact someone or she would take a message to them if someone was trying to reach them.
When she was older, she visited her brother in the great, raucous city of Chicago, IL. This was during the Roaring 20’s. It’s not hard to imagine her having a very exciting time in the big city. She remembered going to speakeasies. For a number of years she worked in Chicago as a governess. It was there that she met and was swept off her feet by the dashing young elevator operator, James “Jim” Stanton. In 1938 they were married in Waukon. They lived in Chicago, where they had two lovely children, Susan and Jamie.
Things didn’t work out between Erma and Jim, who, by his own admission, loved to “gamble on the ponies, chase the pretty ladies and drink a bit too much”, so in 1946 at the age of 37 Erma began the courageous act of raising two children by herself. She returned to the town where her life began and she and Jim were divorced. At the beginning, she and her children stayed with her mother. Later they moved into an apartment over the doctor's office where she worked as a medical assistant for Drs. C.W. and Clark Rominger. Through these hard times Erma persevered and, as Susan likes to put it, “each time she got knocked down she got right back up and kept going”.
In time, Erma renewed the acquaintance of an old friend, Milton Farnham. In early 1956 she and her children moved across the country to join him in California, where they were married. After a couple of years it was clear that this marriage was not meant be and in late 1957 she moved to Washington state, where she would spend her remaining days.
Erma was drawn to Washington because Inga, the sister of her oldest and dearest friend from childhood, Dora Land Benson, was living there and had offered both Erma and Dora refuge. They both took her up on that offer, left their husbands and moved with their sons to Seattle. Dora came from Chicago and Erma from California. The three ladies from Waukon spent many afternoons, until Inga passed away, drinking tea and reminiscing about the old days growing up in Iowa. Dora has also since died. Erma continued working in the medical field and spent many years working in medical records at Ballard Hospital in Seattle.
When her son, James, was in the Army stationed in Germany, Erma spent time visiting him and his family. She traveled with them and on her own throughout many parts of the continent and Great Britain. It was then that she became even fonder of tea, which she drank daily for the rest of her life. She always had a pot ready for visitors. She also renewed her interest in the French language.
After her retirement, Erma moved to a sort of retirement apartment in Kirkland where she made many great friends. One of her best friends was a lovely lady from England, Catherine Forster. They loved to have tea and chat. She was also active in events at the Senior Center in Kirkland. She enjoyed interacting with her neighbors and friends, took classes in French and became good friends with her teachers and fellow students. She had great fun trying out French phrases at every opportunity.
She enjoyed traveling. In her late 70s she took a trip by herself across Canada on the train and joined Susan and her life partner, Greg, in Montreal for a car trip through parts of eastern Canada and northeast USA. She greatly enjoyed visiting the towns of her ancestors in Maine and New Hampshire, and she loved eating the fresh lobster (all you can eat) near Green Gables on Prince Edward Island where Anne from one of her favorite books grew up.
Erma was devastated when her grandson, Jamie, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1990. She never fully recovered from the devastating news.
In 1995 when word got out that the building where she lived was going to close, her son, James, purchased a wonderful condo for her in Seattle near Alki Beach overlooking Puget Sound. She had many happy years entertaining friends and family there.
When it became clear that she needed more help with her daily activities, she moved to Mukilteo and got an apartment in the same complex with Susan and Greg, where she lived out the rest of her days. Up to the last months of her life she enjoyed going to the lighthouse park, sitting in the car, watching the ferries come and go and eating Ivar’s fish and chips.
August 8, 2010, just one month short of her 101st birthday, Erma Jones Stanton died peacefully in her sleep in her own home. She is greatly missed by many.
Erma was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Linton and John “Jack”; and her grandson, James Jones “Jamie” Stanton, Jr. Her grandson, Timothy Scott O’Connor, has also since passed away. She is survived by her daughter, Susan Stanton (Gregory W. Taylor) O’Connor of Mukilteo, WA; her son, James Jones Stanton of Greenbank, WA; her grandchildren, Patrick Allen O’Connor of Snoqualmie Pass, WA and Carolyn Emily Copeland of Seattle, WA; her great-grandson, Timothy Scott (Tammy) O’Connor, Jr. of Covington, WA; great-great grandsons, Tyler Scott O’Connor and Trey Scott O’Connor; and a niece, Sallee (Robert) Lee of Topeka, KS.
The family is planning a trip across the country to return her ashes to the town of her birth, where she will be laid to rest near her parents in Oakland cemetery in Waukon.

The Waukon Standard, June 9, 2011

Allamakee Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen